Maximilian George Goof was born on September 7th, 1981 at Spoonerville General Hospital on a chilly but otherwise clear night at 10:06pm. He was a beautiful baby boy that in looks mostly took after Goofy. Goofy was in tears as he held his newborn son in his arms – this was one of the happiest days of his life. He looked at his wife, and even though she was tired and slightly frazzled from the birth, her beauty still shone though. She too was so overjoyed with this new bundle of joy, and couldn't wait to get him home. After a couple days in the hospital, it was time to take little Maxie home. They placed him into his new cradle and his mother gave him a brown stuffed bear as a token of their love for him. Upon realizing what home actually was, they knew they would need a bigger place for a bigger family and a fifteen-year-old trailer wasn't going to cut it. So they pinched and saved and finally in the spring of '82 Penny and Goofy moved into a small apartment at the Latchkey Garden Apartments complex. Enough money was left for them to buy their first car, a slightly used 1980 black on caramel Chevrolet Chevette. Goofy returned the trailer to his parents, and his father surprisingly gave him that little red Jeep as a present for their new life. He was very proud of Goofy, and he told him so. Goofy was pleased he could make his father proud, and he could only hope one day he could make his son pound of him.

And so parenthood began for the Goof family. The infant years of 3am wake ups, feedings and stinky diapers to the terrible two's and three's where Max became a wild child that was so pepped full of energy he never wanted to go to bed. Goofy remained as the stay at home figure where he did the cleaning and cooking while Penny worked long and hard over at the Spoonful dishing out the latest news and info to the residence of the town – a town that wasn't so small anymore. Goofy would often take walks around town with Max with stroller in hand, taking in all the change and development of the times. Spoonerville had evolved from that small little town to a larger, busier metropolis. It was no longer a place with small individually owned stores, but overthrown with malls, department stores and plazas containing popular chain stores in each. High-rises and big corporate businesses made the downtown area full and robust while more and more new family housing neighborhoods were sprawling creating a huge metropolitan suburban utopia. These were different times from Goofy's childhood days of Woodstock, The Beatles, the first moon landing, Nixon and disco. It was now the MTV generation, Michael Jackson, the first home computers, The Cosby Show and new wave. From black and white TV's and stickball in the street to video games and VCR's, they were all in the middle of this ever growing and expanding world.

The young family continued to prosper in their small but perfect apartment. Goofy would take care and raise his ever-growing son, while Penny had the standard 9-5 job bringing home the bacon. She would come home after an extensive day of work, usually putting in overtime hours and arriving home late, usually when Max was already in bed. She felt she was missing him grow up, but she knew Goofy was there for him. Yep, they were doing it – they were the young family making the bills and taking care and raising their young boy. The picture of a happy family, these were good times. And with Penny's hard work and heavy hitting articles at the newspaper, there was room for promotional growth to become co-anchor for the local KBOB Spoonerville Action Flash 6 news team. The times were just getting better and it seemed nothing was going to get in their way. But the good times would unfortunately not last, and a horrible tragedy would strike the Goof family that would alter it forever…

On a snowy winter's night on December 5th, 1987 while driving home after a strenuous day at the office, Penny lost control of her car on the I-74 highway. The weather conditions were horrible that night as she drove home at 10pm – freezing cold temperatures with blowing snow that caused thick whiteouts from time to time. The highway was dark and not lit too well. The car had hit a patch of ice under the road's snowy surface, and as much as she tried to keep her lightweight Chevette under control, attempts were unsuccessful and it skid off the road, rolling twice and landing on its roof in a snow covered ditch. Barley alive and badly hurt, Penny searched for her purse while her vision blurred in and out of focus. She pulled out a picture – it was of her husband and her darling toddler. A warm tear could be felt slowly sliding down her cheek as she held the picture with all the strength she could muster. She knew this was going to be it, and in a split second her life – that life of love with her one and only man and their now young son – flashed before her teary eyes.

"I love you two with all my heart…always and forever you'll be with me." she quietly spoke as the passed out.

The wind and snow shrieked and howled…an angel had received its wings.

Her totalled automobile was not discovered until the wee hours of the morning as the storm passed, and by then it was too late. Penny had succumbed to her injures of heavy neck and head trauma and by the time paramedics arrived Penny had died. The police reports stated that her death was a combination of her injuries and the unbearably freezing cold wind chill that contributed to her passing. Goofy was up most the night, pacing back and forth in their small apartment, wondering, hoping and praying his wife of over seven years was okay. He eventually fell asleep on the couch with the TV on waiting by the phone – and it was that very sound of it ringing at around a quarter to six in the morning that awoke him out of his troubled slumber. He felt something wasn't right, he could feel it. He reluctantly picked up the phone, saying to himself, "Please be Penny." He quickly came out of his groggy tired presence…it was the police.

Goofy felt his heart disintegrate as the police described what had happened. He could barley hold the receiver since he suddenly could not stop shivering and shaking. He couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, couldn't think, couldn't blink. His heart was racing and his eyes welded with fluid as he found out the only woman who ever loved him was no longer alive. He couldn't hold it in – Goofy broke down and howled as the receiver fell from his trembling hand and on to the floor. He sat on the couch, his hands buried in his face, crying – trying to make sense of what happened. Why it happened. All those "what it's" and "if only's" flooded into his mind. Why didn't he pick her up? If only she had stayed at a nearby motel. She was only 29! How could it all end like this? A decade before they were dancing to the Bee Gees and madly in love…now everything seemed empty and void. All the commotion had awakened a little 6-year-old Max from his sleep and he came walking over to his father holding that ol' stuffed teddy bear his mother gave him the day they brought him home, rubbing his eyes.

"Daddy, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Goofy froze…above all his thoughts about what had just happened, he suddenly remembered…

Max…

What was he going to say? What was he going to do? He saw his precious, innocent young son staring at him with concerning eyes and wanted to break down all over again. But he knew he couldn't, and he had to be strong…for him…for both of them.

"Oh…I was, uh…cutting onions. Yeah, I was cutting up onions for dinner tonight, Maxie."

"But where's mom? She always helps you with dinner when she's home. Did she go out to the store?"

Again, Goofy was on the verge on tears, "No, no…Maxie." He picked Max up and placed him on his knee, "Um, you see, mommy had to go on an important business trip, and she had to go on a plane to a far away place to do some work." It's the best excuse he could come up with at the time.

"When is she gonna be back?" the inquisitive young mind asked.

"Not for a while Maxie…not for awhile."

o----o

As birthdays, celebrations, and the years started to pass, Goofy's excuses about his deceased wife were wearing thin against Max's growing intelligence. Every time Max would ask when she was coming home, Goofy would just come up with another excuse, or try to change the subject or brush off the question all together. He didn't know how to tell his growing son that his mother wasn't going to be there for him. To bandage his scraped knees…to make him cookies…to hug him when he had a bad dream…to be there as he blossomed into a young youth.

Times had become especially hard of the Goof family now since Penny had passed. Since she was the main bread-bringer in the household, Goofy tried desperately to get a job to keep his and Max's lives afloat. Goofy's parents, who were also horribly shaken by the tragic events, gave as much as they could in love and support. Sadly, Goofy was slowly sinking into bills and debts, and the calls from the creditors were hounding and stressing. It was with great reluctance and sadness after close to a decade of living in a place where he shared his love with his one and only that he had to move. It was October 1990 – and Goofy and a now 9-year-old Max were packing up there belongings and getting ready to move into Goofy's old trailer. Goofy was in another room wrapping and packaging some items while Max was in his father's room, rummaging around in his closet. He stumbled upon a small white shoebox and curiosity had the best of him, and he decided to open it. In the box were miscellaneous items of his mother, Penny. Mostly love mementos such as cards and notes and such, old photos of times long past, her mood and wedding ring. But that wasn't all. He also found papercliped articles of some newspaper clippings, and as his eyes scanned the headlines he quickly realized where his mother's so called "business trip" had taken her. And like when Goofy first heard the news, Max too had a rushing of panic and perplexed emotions running through his brain.

Goofy was in the process of wrapping a vase in some bubble wrap as he walked by his bedroom door and saw Max squatted in front of the box at the foot of the closet. He dropped the vase and it slammed to pieces on the ground. Max whipped his head around, tears rolling down his cheeks, breathing heavily.

"Oh…Max." Goofy said as he quickly came over to comfort his son. He hugged him tightly and kissed his forehead, "I never wanted you to find out like this. I'm so sorry." he said as he ran his hand through Max's hair.

Max tried to speak through his sniffs and sobs, "I can't believe it, after all this time…she's…gone."

"I know Max, I know. But you know one thing – she loved you dearly, with all her heart." he said as he looked Max square in the face.

"I miss her…" He quickly latched tightly onto his father again.

There in a bright sun filled bedroom, father and son sat by a box of memories, the room feeling cold and desolate as that horrible snowy night where a life was lost.

"It gonna be okay Maxie…it's gonna be okay."

o----o

Again…time ticked on, and the troop of Goof's were now living in Goofy's small trailer. It wasn't much, but it was home. A home that shared fond memories, back in the day when Goofy and Penny were in newlywed bliss feeling like nothing in the world could ever touch them. It was a blessing, and yet a curse to live in such a place, and there wasn't a day gone by in that trailer where something in it reminded him of Penny.

Money was tight and times were tough, but father and son had each other to get themselves through the times, good or bad. Goofy worked numerous jobs and tried to save money so Max could have a better life. He did have a college fund set up for him when he was born, and Goofy and Penny put in as much money as they could. As a last resort that money…most of it had to be used to survive now that Penny was gone, and Goofy hated himself for it – because he didn't want his son to have a life like this. His childhood wasn't going they way Goofy had planned. Losing his mother was enough, but now Max had to deal with moving from town to town, having no real friends and planting no stable roots. They were so poor Goofy had no choice but to home school Max to the best of his ability.

Goofy enrolled himself into one of those "earn a degree at home" courses, which he did on the side as he worked the odd job here and there. That one faithful ray of light shone though in the summer of '92 where Goofy finally got his papers in the mail. He successfully completed his advanced beginners course and was awarded in the degree of W,W,D. – Widget Wafler Deluxe. Overjoyed with the fact that he could move back to his old hometown of Spoonerville and take the job there; as soon as they could they sped off from the current trailer park they had been living in out in a small rural town, and with Goofy's jeep and trailer in tow made their way to town. (This is where, as all you Goof Troop fans know, the series began to peek into the lives of our klutzy gang.) Goofy called up his long-time "chum" and former schoolmate Pete saying that he was coming back to town – and Pete would soon find out his life would change forever. He was now married to Peg with two kids, 11-year-old P.J. and 5-year-old Pistol. His life was going pretty well until that unfaithful day Goofy came back to town. As luck would have it for Goofy, but as awful fate for Pete, Peg was a local real estate agent and as even more irony would have it, a house was for sale right beside theirs. Of course, Pete tried with all his might to sabotage the house for his own greedy purposes. In the end, Goofy moved in at 357 Main Street and the wacky stories we all know and love about this suburban-lifestyle sitcom-family began.

Throughout the years that followed, the two families had many adventures together. Many of them mostly inspired by Pete's greed for money, wealth and power. Goofy would somehow get involved, mainly as a pawn in Pete's game and mess up his plans. Then with the ever "loving persuasion" of Pete's wife Peg shouting at him to adjust whatever damage he did, his plans ended washed up and he usually went insane, all the while our unencumbered hero Goofy revealed many facets of his personality while blissfully enduring Pete's personal grudge against him. During this time, Max was growing up into an adorable and mischievous scratchy voiced spiky haired pre-teen youngster who became best friends with Pete's first born, P.J.. They themselves had a handful of young, spirited elementary school adventures. Goofy was glad he could give his son a better life, but bills still loomed and many times they barely made it by. That degree of his wasn't really getting him that far, and for a while Goofy worked numerous jobs to keep food on the table. He worked as the town's safety inspector, owned his own pizza shop, worked as a janitor for NASA and was even mayor of Spoonerville for a brief period of time.

Pete also did not help the situation because he always tried to con money out of simple-minded Goofy. Luckily, Max – not in all ways like his father took after his mother in one aspect and was quite the sharp scamp, and he caught on to a lot of things faster than his old man. The two did their best, but at one time it seemed their best wasn't good enough and their way of life was threatened when Miss. Pennypacker, the school's councillor, stated that Max should live somewhere else until Goofy could get his act together. Eventually he did, and even had dinner with Miss. Pennypacker along side with Max. Goofy and Miss. Pennypacker did have an interest in each other, but things didn't click as they could have. Mainly because it seemed that even five years after her death, Goofy was still not over Penny and still found it too soon to be seeing anyone knew. It was upon more realization that this was the first time in five years that he even thought about that part of his life – love and companionship. Goofy still missed Penny, with all his heart and every part of his soul. He often fell into a depression of thinking that no one could ever replace her. That no one would accept him and his goofy ways with such loving eyes as she did. He kept thinking what kind of life they could have had. Yes, Goofy fell down sometimes – but it was during those times that Max helped him through it, and always re-assured things were going to be all right…much as Goofy did with Max years before the day he found out his mother had died.

o----o

Just as things seemed to be going all right for the two of them, things were changing and falling apart all over again. While going up to a cottage in Aspen, Colorado for Christmas in '93, Goofy's Jeep – the one that is father gave him over a decade ago, was lost in a bizarre accident involving Goofy's obsession for making the perfect Christmas for Max. Sparks flew from the badly wired lights and oversized decorations Goofy had put up and the car caught fire, burning to nothing in mere seconds. Luckily, Goofy had saved one of Max's presents but a lot of valuable things were lost. Coincidently, Pete and his family had a cottage at a ski lodge nearby and Peg happily accepted them while Pete humbly rejected them, since he blamed Goofy for his own Christmas being ruined and the holiday for both families was spent in a cold and damp bear cave due to Goofy being unaware of his antics. It would definitely be a Christmas to forget. After the accident, Goofy went in search for another set of wheels – a cheap set, because he could barley afford anything. That brought him to Honest Pete's Used Cars, and as luck would have it Pete did have a car Goofy could afford – a bright yellow 1977 AMC Pacer. Of course, Pete ripped Goofy off left and right with the small amount of money he did have, and in readily fashion Peg blasted Pete for doing such a thing to the Goof's and made him give half of the money back.

As The Byrds stated in an old 60's tune, "To everything - turn, turn, turn, there is a season - turn, turn, turn…" In 1994 Peg and Pete divorced after close to 15 years of marriage. Whatever spark that first ignited their flaming relationship had now flickered out sometime over the years. Peg couldn't stand Pete anymore. She was sick and tired of yelling her head off trying to keep him in line, and she didn't feel appreciated and loved as she once was. All she was in Pete's eyes was the lady that cleaned up after him and made his dinner. Peg didn't even find him physically attractive anymore, as he really let himself go since being in muscular shape as Spoonerville High's star player on the football team where his long, full head of hair and big sculpted body first attracted her to him. Pete was now a fat selfish slob with a business that was going nowhere fast. She could not stand being chained down that fat tub o'-lard for the rest of her days. Pete lost the car lot in the divorce and the house was sold. Pistol went to live with Peg in a small townhouse across town while P.J., for some reason or another decided to say with his dad. Mostly likely Pete guilt-rode his son into saying with him so he could replace Peg and keep P.J. "under his thumb" so to speak. It was a sad day when P.J. had to move, because him and Max were best buds. Yeah, they could still see each other at school and whatnot, but it wouldn't be the same.

It wouldn't be long before money problems would force Goofy to now sell the house he just moved into three years before. The mortgage payments were just too expensive on a house that size, plus with everything that had gone on within it during those years, combined with its age, it was in a stressing state of disrepair. And trying to find work with his degree didn't bring in enough money to live securely. So Goofy found himself in-between jobs yet again and felt everything was so instable once more. He hated he couldn't plant firm roots for him and Max. And Max was growing up, into a young teenager that would soon be headed off to high school. Max was also dealing with the onslaught of puberty and with growing up in the shadow of his goofy father; he suddenly found himself more embarrassed than ever to be seen in public with him. He was smack-dab in the middle of awkward teen-hood. It was that change from a child liking to spend time with their parents to that rebellious teen phase where the teenager wants to be left alone to progress through his or her personal experiences of growing up by themselves in his or her own life. Max's greatest paranoiac fear was he would eventually become exactly like his goofy father. It's hard to be cool when your father is Goofy – the model of a very modern, major un-cool guy. Goofy was always the kind of guy that lived to make people laugh, even if the laughs were mostly against him and not with him. That's who Goofy is. Max, however, didn't want that kind of life. This difference between them started to drive them apart, and Goofy found himself floating farther and farther away from his son. He wanted to be a part of his life but at the same time hesitated, because he knew what Max was starting to think of him now, being such a goof and all. He knew that teenagers liked to be left alone sometimes, and he himself went through his own teen uprising when he grew up as well. So Goofy kept somewhat of a distance away from Max…just far away enough to give him room to grow, while close enough to still be there for him and to love him. But it would be the events of one forthcoming summer a school year later that would change their whole father/son relationship forever.

o----o

By fall 1995, things had changed and were continuing to change at a very rapid rate. Goofy and Max had packed up from their old house on Main with yellow Pacer in hand and moved to a smaller, nicer looking house in another part of the now vast middle-class neighbourhood culture. All the suburban development over the years prompted the building of a new high school since Spoonerville High was now overly cramped with kids and the aging structure couldn't adapt to the technology of the go-go 80's. Hayes High School was built over a couple years in the late 80's and opened fall 1990 and was only a quick hop, skip and a jump from Goofy's new place. Since Pete had lost his used car business in the divorce, he was looking to start off another business of his own. But he couldn't do it on his own, and needed someone – a sucker to invest in his idea. A person that would be easy to keep under his thumb, a person that he could pay minimum wage…a person like Goofy. They got together and collaborated an idea of a photo business, and eventually both of them maintained a small photo studio in a local department store specializing in baby photography. It wasn't much, but it did bring in the green quite well.

Things definitely seemed to be on the up and up. New house, "new" car, new business, and in the case of Max – a new life because this was his freshman year in high school. Luckily P.J. and Pete had also moved close by to the school so they could still hang out. Keeping friends in that transition of elementary to high school is a quite a task, but its that exciting challenge of making new friends that made high school a refreshing prospective on average school life. It was during this time Max met a guy by the name of Robert Zimuruski, better known as Bobby, who had a strange obsession over 'Cheddar Whizzy' aerosol cheese. Both of them had general interests in the same music and hobbies and they, along with P.J. became the best trio of friends, rockin' in their own dorky way. They weren't the most popular or talked about kids, but they weren't total nerds either. They were sort of stuck in the middle of the colorful social fabric that was high school.

It was also during this time that Max had started to really notice the opposite sex. Girls were no longer frowned upon as yucky and the hosts for horrible "cootie" germs, but as the objectives of puppy loves and mushy crushes. This is where Roxanne came into the picture. She was in some of Max's classes and he couldn't help but notice her. She was a sweet and likeable gal, beautiful and captivating with her auburn hair and dark alluring eyes, perfecting the package in her cuffed denim shorts and turquoise colored t-shirt. But of course, Max was far too shy and bashful to even think of asking her out. He didn't think she noticed him at all…he was nothing but another guy among hundreds in the school, and Max desperately wanted to stand out from the average crowd.

On the last day of school, Max along with P.J. and Bobby plotted a harebrained scheme to crash the principal's year-end speech with a stage show in which Max dressed up and danced to a current hit by major pop star idol Powerline. By school year's end Max had developed a major crush on Roxanne but didn't know how to go around asking her out…today was going to be the day that all changed. It started off good with Max's lip-syncing the lyrics and mimicking Powerline's moves to a tee – and it was plain to see that Max had inherited his awesome ability to dance from his father. Blaring music, big screens and a smoke show tore the student body to break into a riotous frenzy of partying teens going wild in the auditorium. When it looked as if they were just about to pull it off, technical difficulties came into play and Max almost knocked down Principle Mazur…who was not amused by Max and company's little show. While waiting outside his office to await punishment, Roxanne and her friend Stacey noticed a downtrodden Max sitting with his face buried into his hands. Pushed by her extroverted friend, Roxanne decided to make the first move in getting to know Max and tapped him on the shoulder, resulting in both of them jumping back in surprise and letting Roxanne's papers and books fall to the floor. It was in the process of picking up her items that Max finally got the guts to ask the girl he admired from afar out for a sorta-kinda-date during their summer holidays at Stacey's end of school party where they would see Powerline's concert live in L.A. on pay-per-view. All seemed to be going well for Max and he was on cloud nine as he skateboarded home. He had sure gotten Roxanne's attention now…but it would all go to pot in a matter of minutes as Goofy would deliver devastating news.

Goofy's shocking phone call from the principle that day detailing Max's escapade threw him into a vortex of bewilderment. How could he have let this happen? In his eyes Max was his little boy who sure; could be a little grumpy at times, but was still a good apple. Things were going so good for the first time in a long while, and then to find out his son was at the centre of a huge massacre at school…well, he was disappointed – in himself. He felt that it was his entire fault for giving Max that little inch of room to grow. He felt he had made some parenting mistake and let things slip too far and that he had lost control of his son. That's when Goofy conjured up the idea to reforge the bond he once had with his son. He would take Max on a fishing trip to good ol' Lake Destiny with him, something he always loved to do with his father and he hoped Max would be excited about it…boy, was he wrong. Goofy's sudden onslaught to decide to take his son on a long father/son fishing trip did not sit well with Max at all. He had his own life and own issues to deal with and this trip wasn't going to sit well with his upcoming date with Roxanne. But Goofy, not being the sharpest tack in the box overlooked Max's dilemmas and was determined to save his son from the "electric chair". Goofy eventually trapped a protesting Max into the car and they started the journey, but not before stopping off at Roxanne's to break the news about the date. Max started to tell her what was going on, but at the last minute at seeing her reaction to the bad news, changed the story that he was going across the county to go to the Powerline concert in L.A. – not only that, but he'd be up on stage with him too. People do stupid things when they're in love and Max was positively the spokesperson for that fact. How on Earth was he going to pull this off?

Like clockwork the road trip got underway. Of course, Max acted like any other teenager would in his situation – and this one was a doozie. He sulked and snarled with a temperas attitude, refusing to play along with any of Goofy's adorable attempts at getting him in the mood. All Max's mind was focused on was the girl he had left behind, and he was so angry with his father for ripping them apart and ruining his summer. He kept thinking and daydreaming about what summer Roxanne and him could have had together. He wasn't reacting well to Goofy's attempt to bond with him and it looked like it was the beginning of the road trip from hell. He was embarrassed to death by his super un-cool father at Lester's Possum Park and even tried to hitchhike back to reality to get away from him. It was with great luck that their travel paths crossed with Pete and P.J.'s who where on a father/son trip of their own – but the happiness would not last long as while fishing with Max, Goofy somehow attracted the attention of the fabled Bigfoot. Pete and Peej packed up their RV and took off in a flash, while Goofy and Max jumped into their car attempting to make a run for it, but unfortunately the keys for the car had been left outside where the monster crept, so it looked like they were spending the night in the Pacer. It was during this time that Max discovered the map in the glove box late at night while his father slept. There it was… through the dim light of the glove box, the ultimate route on the highway to hell. Thoughts raced through his brain about what to do. One little change in direction could make all his dreams come true, but on the other hand could he pull it off with his dad at the wheel? His feelings for Roxanne got the better of him and he quickly changed the route from Idaho to L.A.. It was all in the hands of fate what would happen next.

After the Bigfoot incident our duo started to put more road behind them. It was then that Goofy handed over the duties of navigating to Max. Now Max had all the power to make this the road trip of his dreams…but as they say with great power comes great responsibility. Throughout the trip, a number of seemingly random events happened from traveling state-to-state forcing them to start bridging that wide gap between father and son. After stopping off at the Neptune Inn to rest, Pete and P.J. encountered the Goof's again by weird coincidence. It was to Pete's surprise that he overheard Max and P.J. talking about Max's changing of the map route. It was with great "agony" that Pete told Goofy what his son was doing. Goofy didn't believe him, and sulked off to the car to think. By chance the map plopped out of that loosely locked glove box and Goofy discovered the awful truth about what his son, the one he thought so highly of, had done.

The day of reckoning finally came when their junction came up in that road ahead. Quite a tense moment to say the least, Max went with his plan to go to the concert in L.A.. Goofy was not amused, and for the first time since anyone knows he lost is temper, and furiously pulled the car to the side of the road to cool down. He was so frustrated, at wits end. He kept thinking where it all went wrong while staring off into the landscape. He promptly thought about Penny – who had been deceased close to a decade now, and pondered how things would have been different if she was still alive. Sadly these thoughts would be interrupted as the car started rolling down the hill they were parked on! Both of them frantically ran after the rolling auto blaming each other in the process for not setting the parking brake. This was where the tension between the two finally erupted into a wild and dangerous ride over cliffs and boulders, ending up in a river. After catching their breath, they worked the situation out while sitting atop the floating car, and realized how Max's anger was balanced by Goofy's desperation to re-connect with him. The fact they could see both views of walking in each other's shoes so clearly was a big step that they made some progress in their relationship.

But the trip wasn't over yet – there was still the fact that Max had a concert to get to, and just as he was going to back out of the whole crazy fiasco, Goofy reassured him they would get into that show. Eventually, the drenched and soaking wet Pacer washed up along side the river. It was towed out of the river and after some cleaning up both of them made it to L.A.. They got into the concert by hiding in instrument cases to get through security, and got on stage in front of thousands upon thousands of fans. As predicted, Roxanne saw Max at Stacey's party on her big-screen TV. While partying around, it seemed Stacey started to notice Bobby and vice-versa. Stacey was attracted to Bobby's wild mohawk hair and party animal style, while Bobby fancied her braces and fashionable ways. Things were unquestionably brewing between the two of them.

Eventually, Max and Goofy finally returned to town in the now totalled Pacer – quite a car to last all that abuse till the very end. They stopped at Roxanne's house so Max could explain himself. While Goofy sat in his car and watched the youngsters talk out their problems, he could not believe how blind with confusion and selfish he had been. If only he had listened to Max, really listened about the party and Roxanne, he would have realized that Max was going through the exact same thing he went through twenty years before – meeting a girl in their freshman year of high school. He watched the both of them; saw Max kiss Roxanne and the young image of himself and Penny at their age popped into his mind. If he had known about this, there was no way he would have stood between the two of them, because Goofy's first priority in life was to always make his son happy. Max reluctantly told Roxanne the truth about what happened. He didn't need to lie to get her affections, because they were already his, he just never saw it. It did however make one wild vacation…something that would always be talked about for years to come.

o----o

The rest of the summer would definitely not go to waste. Max and Roxanne, many times along with Bobby and Stacey would hang out at all the town's popular teen places. Surprisingly Ricky's Roller Rink and El-Babba Burgers stood the test of time and were still open and considered hip to the ever-changing generations of kids. The mall was a good place to spend time with friends along with the skate park and local arcade. Max and Roxanne and Bobby and Stacey continued to date throughout high school. Eventually the group of friends split up more often so they could be alone on their ever-growing amount of solo dates. Max and Roxanne would often go to the movies and such; hold hands on the beach. By the beginning of their senior year of high school they had been going steady for quite some time, and they didn't plan on breaking up, but the pressure of teen-hood was much different then it was when Goofy had been growing up, and this would prove true as times changed once again.

Life gives us highs and lows – it's a roller coaster ride of emotions, and poor Goofy was in for the ride of his life as it seemed the awful events were going to be never-ending. First, he turned the big 4-0 and was getting to that point in his life where he kept regrettably looking back on the past and thinking about why he was where he was today. He was sort of going through an early mid-life crisis. Soon after, the photo shop between Pete and Goofy dissolved and Pete went to fulfill his own endeavours. Goofy on the other hand was again left with facing the unemployment line, and while in his depressing state one day he attempted to make himself a grilled cheese sandwich – which would prove as a disastrous task. As Goofy moped around while the sandwich was on the stove burner, he slopped himself on the couch and fell asleep, totally forgetting about the sandwich. He awoke moments later to the smell of smoke filling the kitchen. Goofy tried to put the fire out but ended up running next door to use the neighbors phone to dial 911. Max, who had come home from school, witnessed his house being doused with water by the Spoonerville Fire Department. He immediately seeked his dad who was sitting outside by the ambulance that was on the scene. Goofy could not believe how stupid he was, he really messed up this time. The damages to the house were pretty bad – it gutted the kitchen and caused thousands of dollars of damage to other parts of the house. Luckily the fire didn't spread too far so many personal items were salvaged. But unfortunately the damage was too extensive to fix at the time, and the insurance company decided to move the two to a beautiful yellow house in another part of the neighborhood.

But that wasn't even the beginning of the bad news for Goofy. While just settling into their new house, Goofy received a phone call from his mother. Matilda was panic-stricken and crying as she tried to tell Goofy what had happened. It turned out his father Benjamin, only a couple days away from his 64th birthday had a heart attack while going out for coffee with some of his old buddies at the mall. Paramedics had tried to save him but he died on the way to the hospital. Goofy was devastated. His father who was his best friend during his formative years as a young boy, the person that loved him with all his heart was…dead. It hit him like a ton of bricks, but Max was there to comfort him and help him through it. The funeral service was held on a beautiful spring day, and Benjamin was laid to rest not far from the gravestone of Goofy's former life partner, Penny. Goofy had always stopped by her grave once in a while, but he could not believe it had been twelve years since she passed on. It felt like an eternity since Goofy felt her soft touch, and all this mourning over his father and grieving over his lover wasn't doing Goofy any good. Matilda decided to finally sell their old home, which was now out of place in the big city it was now encased in. She said her and Ben had planned to move to Florida after his birthday, but sadly she was now going alone. On the day she was planning to move, she invited Goofy over for one last look at the house. She had a surprise for him as they went to the garage. There sitting amongst dusty boxes and oily rags was that old baby blue 1956 Chevrolet Bel-Air convertible that his father had gotten for his 21st birthday. Goofy remembered that car, but thought his father had gotten rid of it a long time ago. His father left it to him in the will, which was unhappily perfect timing as Goofy needed a car more than ever since the Pacer was gone. Even though it was over fifty years old, it would serve as Goofy's main purpose of transportation until he could afford something a bit more modern so he could keep it as a classic relic. Ultimately, Goofy found a factory job at Beekins Toy Company as a line production worker assembling toys. It was demanding shift work, but it brought in the cash well.

By the time prom came around at Hayes High School, one young couple would still be together. Max and Roxanne went to their prom together and had a great time. Alas, the relationship between Bobby and Stacey fizzled out by high school's end. The differences were just too great and they were growing with age and maturity. Stacey was a major valley girl, with tendencies to say "like totally" a lot. She was extremely trendy with up-to-date clothes and always did things on the spur of the moment. She was a nice girl, but her incessant talking could get slightly annoying at times. Bobby on the other hand was a more relaxed laid back guy, a lazy type dude that just let things flow. He was a nice guy, but far too spaced out for Stacey's taste. So they decided to end it before it was too late and remain friends. By the time Max and Roxanne graduated as class of '99, they were still dating, and both truly liked each other, but something was missing and Max couldn't put his finger on it. So he went to his father in search for answers, and they sat down one day and hammered the subject out. He explained to him the current situation him and Roxy were facing now that high school was coming to a close.

"You know, Max, your mother and I were very lucky." he said as he paced around the living room, picking up a photo of them as a family when Max was a baby. "We were each others firsts and shared a lot of firsts like first kiss, first date, first marriage and first…well, you know…" he said as he winked, Max understood what he was referring too, "…and that's a scarce rarity among your generation today I'm sorry to say, to start building a long-term relationship in the high school years."

"Well, what are you trying to say dad?" Max questioned perplexedly.

"Well, the average high school relationship only lasts about two weeks, Max. You and Roxanne have beaten those odds so far." he said as he stared out the window. "But it's that transition leaving the social pressures of high school to becoming an adult that really proves if you two should be together. It was fate that your mother and I stuck it out throughout the socialisms of high school and that period of being away from each other during college. Love was developing between us, and we profoundly knew and cared for one another." He turned to Max, "You two are still very young, you're only 18, and even though you may hate to admit it, maybe she isn't the one." Goofy walked and sat down on the couch beside Max. "Do you love her?"

The question caught Max a little of guard, "Wha?"

"Do you love her, Maxie?"

"Well…I like her…a lot. I like being with her, and she likes me…"

"But is it love?"

"I…don't know."

Goofy put his hand on his son's shoulder, "I think you two need time to sort out your feelings. Give it time Max, and you'll see whether or not it was meant to be."

He didn't know how, but his father for what seemed to be the first time ever made perfect sense. During that summer Max and Roxanne walked around the closed high school and sat on the football field bleachers. It was that very place four years before that they first spoke with one another…sort of. Rather Max ran away like a spazzed coward after coming so close in contact with the pretty girl that he had affections for. They talked about the current state their relationship was in. Roxanne said herself she knew this was coming, everything had changed so much – college was just around the corner. They were both planning on going to the same State college, but with the way their classes were going to fall, it didn't look as if they could ever have time to meet up with one another. It was with great angst and sorrow that they had to put their relationship on hold. They weren't breaking up – their feelings for each other were still strong and they wanted to be with each other, but just didn't know how to get around this development in their young lives. They kissed a long, passionate kiss and walked each other to her place. Afterwards, Max took a long stroll around the town, and reminisced about times past with him and Roxanne along with Bobby and Stacey. He felt like an era had passed between those times, but he didn't let these thoughts get him down. After all, college was on its way. Such a fresher start then high school ever was. A chance to break free from everything and start anew. Yep, it was a good time to be alive.