And so when a large contingent of his family and friends gathered at a Del Mar park Sunday to celebrate his short but full life, two biplanes plowed through the sky in a show of might that would make Max smile. Their engines roared and the crowd cheered and applauded for 7-year-old Max Mikulak who died recently after a 4-year battle with cancer.
And how could one not? He was light and goodness and joy… an angel in our midst,” she said. His enthusiasm and smile were infectious, she said.
The day after the celebration for Max, a few hundred people participated in a walk in Balboa Park to raise money for the MagicWater Project. Just over $18,000 was collected from the fundraiser, which was sponsored by RealAge.com, Andy Mikulak’s employer.
Where the Wild Things AreThe night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another
his mother called him "WILD THING!" and Max said "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to bed with eating anything.
That very night in Max's room a forest grew and grew and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and walls became the world all around and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max and he sailed off through night and day
and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are. And when he came to the place where the wild things are they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled there terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws till Max said "BE STILL!" and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all and made him king of all wild things.
"And now, " cried Max, "let the wild rumpus start!"
"Now stop!" Max said and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper. And Max the king of all wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all. Then all around from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat so he gave up being king of where the wild things are. But the wild things cried, "Oh please don't go - we'll eat you up we love you so!" And Max said, "No!" The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled there terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved good-bye and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him
MAX by Bob Graham, is a much longer story. Hannah read it - perfectly by the way! Its the story of a boy born to superhero parents who can't seem to fly, until one day he's faced with a problem that requires him to fly to avoid certain disaster. The question at the end of the story is "Now that Max can fly will be become a superhero like his parents?" His mother says, "Not important. Let's call him a small hero, a small hero doing quiet deeds. The world needs more of these."
I think our Max was indeed a small hero. Look what he's done for you and me.
There is a drop off area at the base of 15th Street where it meets Ocean Avenue (Sea Grove Park) for people who cannot walk far. You can drop off there and then park.
Please give yourself ample time to park and walk to the Celebration. We will start promptly at 9:00am. See you there!
I think many of the readers of this blog know Max exclusively through what is posted here. And many readers joined us recently, when much of Max's life consisted of too many sad/unhappy times and not enough good ones. Below, are three videos which - to me - epitomize strong characteristics of Max at various points in the last seven years. He really was a normal kid, put into an abnormal circumstance that unfortunately changed him to some extent, though his core remained unchanged. He was a cool, caring and crazy kid.
Cool
In this video, Max merges the who-gives-a-d*mn-what-I-sound-like style of Henry Rollins with the who-gives-a-d*mn-what-I-look-like geeky cool of Beck into his own rendition of 'Ring of Fire' (his signature song).
Caring
Max had to try three times to make this happen. He was so innocent and gentle which I think is what made him so attractive to the girls in his classes.
Crazy
One of the characteristics that I missed most in the last few years. Max was born very physically aggressive and unafraid. When he was just walking, I would crawl after him, chasing him into a corner - he'd come charging at me in an attempt to break through. He had many scars on his face and head from these early years of acion. Here, at two years old, finding out more about gravity and how fun it was.
You can create your page ahead of time and bring it to the celebration, or we will have everything you need to create a page at the ceremony. You can bring a photo, poem, message, drawing, Max story, artwork, etc... but everything must be flat, not dimensional. We will have some of your favorite photos of Max there, if you want to use/incorporate one onto your page. Remember to write your name on the page! 
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If I had a wish, I would wish that Max's cancer would go away and stay away
forever.
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