Heavy Heart Almost Dances

[Poi Pet, 1/19/26]

Entering Cambodia 12 days ago, I was hoping to see my friend, Mark, in Battambang, then Max and Best Mom in Siem Reap. Poi Pet, right next to the Thai border, was also a possibility. I’ve managed to do all that, except catching up with Max. He’s dead.

Walking into Best Mom this afternoon, I wasn’t sure Mom or her husband, Kim, would remember me. It’d been three years. Plus, I’d lost much weight and allowed my hair and whiskers to grow wild. Immediately, Mom brightened up, then stood up to give me a hug, a rare gesture. Adult orientals almost never hug.

What a shock to hear Max is gone. Writing about him in 2022, I quoted the thrice divorced Air Force vet from Iowa, “I’m so happy to be out. It’s one nasty country filled with ignorant people who want to kill you!” Even when destitute, Max toughed it out in Cambodia. Mom often fed him for free, and rented him a room for just $30 a month near the end. When I saw Max in 2023, he was waiting for his Social Security and military pension, about $2,800, to kick in. Dude was ready to live it up again.