Tenth from the Top: Happiness and Hurt Unveiled a Time for My Story

By Max E. Wells

Max Wells lives in the panhandle of Texas in a community called
Hereford, and has lived there for 34 years with his wife Sherry. He
has talked of writing his story for a long time and decided that now he
is ready to share some of his experiences. Not having any schooling in
writing it was difficult as to how to begin. So, he decided to just talk.
The mountains and valleys of his life refl ect all that he has become.
Changing what he could change and accepting that which he cannot.
His intent is to give you an insight of what one man can do, what
he can persevere when challenged in so many ways. His life story he
owns and maybe in some way he can pass along to someone the inner
strength that we all possess.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469138442

Max E. Wells

Max Wells lives in the panhandle of Texas in a community called Hereford, and has lived there for 34 years with his wife Sherry. He has talked of writing his story for a long time and decided that now he is ready to share some of his experiences. Not having any schooling in writing it was difficult as to how to begin. So, he decided to just talk. The mountains and valleys of his life reflect all that he has become. Changing what he could change and accepting that which he cannot. His intent is to give you an insight of what one man can do, what he can persevere when challenged in so many ways. His life story he owns and maybe in some way he can pass along to someone the inner strength that we all possess.

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Copyright © 2012 by Max E. Wells.

The cover was taken from a photo by Bonnie Wells, our niece who lives in Arizona.

Grandma Moses quote found on www.good reads.com.

Aldous Huxley (page 253) Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2011962778

ISBN: Hardcover    978-1-4691-3843-5

ISBN: Softcover      978-1-4691-3842-8

ISBN: Ebook          978-1-4691-3844-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

107593

To my family and friends.

PROLOGUE

Several years ago I considered writing my life story. My brother, Bob, tried to get me involved with his story as he was writing a book and asked me if I would like to contribute to it. At this time I had to deal with a lot of health issues and couldn’t really concentrate on anything else.

Then one day I started talking about doing this again and my wife, Sherry, picked up a pen and paper and asked me to start talking and she would write it down. And that is how this all began.

I share with you some childhood memories, great joys in my life and an unbelievable sorrow. A strength that I found to be focused on getting on with life, it is the core of who I am.

My story begins with three letters. I received two of them from my two oldest grandsons, Matthew and Marc Wells. The other one is from a great-niece Taylor Ohlfest, it was a school project and she chose me as a person of courage. I don’t know if I deserve their accolades but I sure do appreciate them and feel honored that they feel this way.

Dear Grandpa,

Marc said he wanted to write something to you for the book you are working on in an attempt to put in to words how much you mean to him and the impact you’ve had in his life. This has inspired me to want to do the same.

Then as I sat down a moment ago, I honestly don’t know where to begin. So I’ll just start by saying THANK YOU.

Thank you for being the Grandpa any child would be privileged to have. Thank you for instilling in me the values and character that make a man a man. Thank you for being the example. Thank you for being so strong. Thank you for never giving up. Thank you for always being there. Thank you for your consistent love and understanding.

I simply could not ask for a better Grandpa than you. I am a blessed grandson.

I love and respect you very much!

Your Number One Grandson,

—Matthew

They say that the things you go through in life make you who you are. That pretty much explains it for my Grandpa, he’s been through a lot and in turn has made a lot of himself. The impression he’s made on me will last forever and his legacy will go on forever in our families. He truly makes me proud to be a Wells.

I began to see things as to his way of thinking at a young age, maybe not always by choice. A lot of boys have a relationship of tough love with the men in their family, but I wouldn’t quite describe our relationship as that. My grandpa always showed all of us how much he loved us, but yet he was still the toughest son of a gun around. Instead of disciplining me he would use my mistakes as a teaching point and I’ll tell you when someone you look up to teaches you something you tend to listen and remember to this day. I hear his voice in certain instances look them in the eye, nothing good happens after midnight, bounce pass, I could go on and on with his sayings. I learned so much from our many projects, my Mom still asks me if I’m doing a project anytime I work on something. He’s taught me how to conduct myself during my darkest hour or on my best days. I believe my Grandpa can do anything, until I was about 8 years I believed he drilled a hole in his thumb and that was the reason he could blow up his bicep, by putting his thumb in his mouth and blowing up his muscle. That’s kind of funny, but you’ve got to understand I thought he was Superman!

If I would have followed everything he ever taught me I just might have become president. The times I didn’t follow his advice helped me to end up where I am today, in prison, but it’s okay because just like my Grandpa I will over-come my circumstances.

Abraham Lincoln once said, I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser than he was yesterday. Every day I feel I become wiser and a better man due to something I learned from Max Edgar Wells, my Grandpa. Once again I am very proud to be a Wells. The man at the head of our family exemplifies everything a good man is and has set a fine example for the rest of us.

I hope someday I’m half the man my Grandpa is!

Love,

Marc Evan Wells

Dear Uncle Max,

I wanted to write this letter to you to tell you how courageous and brave you are. I thought of you and this is why.

I think you have a lot of courage because when you were in your dark times you never stopped fighting. You started to lose your toes and have no blood flow from your knee down. You believed it would be alright. When I was scared you helped me believe you were alright and we could get through this together. Through your pain I realized you were brave, strong and willing to fight the road ahead.

Then your next step you had one leg cut off below the knee because of your pain. The doctors tried to save your other leg but it was too late. You made the decision to have your other leg cut off too. Then you got your prosthetic legs that were life savers. I was so happy that you were able to walk again.

Then you were on your road to recovery. You went to a therapist to get your legs strong again. You wanted to learn how to ride a horse again and drive. You reached those goals. As today continues you reach more goals. I am so proud of you for never giving up!

With love,

Taylor Ohlfest

Experience is not what happens to a man.

It is what a man does with what happens to him.

Aldous Huxley

TENTH FROM THE TOP

The most difficult time of my life was an accident that happened that day that still defines me and who I am. When an unexpected event happens to a person, nobody really knows how that circumstance will change them, but I know. For in an instant, that accident changed my life forever. I had made plans the day before to help my brother-in-law, Bob Chaffin, to haul manure out of the barnyard and spread it on the fields. Our three-year-old son, Rodney, and two-year-old son, Marc, were in the backseat of the car. My wife, Peggy, and our four-year-old son, Terry, were in the front seat with me. Only five miles down the road, our car was broadsided by a woman and her daughter. Peggy, Rodney and Marc all perished that day. It happened on April 27, 1960, at 7:45 AM on a country road just northeast of Spencer, Iowa.

_________________________________________________

I was born in Spirit Lake, Iowa, on July 10, 1934. My full name is Max Edgar Wells, and I am the tenth child from a family of thirteen siblings. I weighed ten pounds and ten ounces and was my mother’s largest child at birth. My parents names were Nile and Ida, and our large family consisted of five girls and eight boys. Their names were Myrtle, Myrna, Walter, Horace, Nile, Ilene, Donald, Mary Ann, Robert, myself, Gary, Lynn and Linda Mae. This was the beginning of the most unbelievable years in the life of thirteen siblings that were friends at best and enemies at worst. But make no mistake, don’t let anybody else mess with any one of us.

parents%20picture%20Nile%20and%20Ida%20Wells.jpg

Nile and Ida Wells

When I was about