When he was a very young boy, Max Caldwell's favorite imaginary friend was Monte the
"hazard rabbit", . . .he would appear when Max was home alone, and both his parents
were not back from their daily work. Monte spent most of Max's "alone time" spouting
cautionary tales about children getting their hands caught in vending machines and
how to defuse a dangerously hot pie while cooling on the windowsill from the oven.
They had great talks and great adventures. Sometimes there would be a complicated
problem to solve or there would just be laughs and laughs! Monte was always there for
him until middle school when Max discovered other interests that were not suited for
Monte, like teenage crushes or the wrestling team.
When Max was an adult or what appeared to be an adult, he never forgot Monte, . . .
and would often think about him while working out the stories for his children's books
and treatments for his screenplays. He still pictured Monte and his floppy ears that
dragged on the floor, . . .but now his cautionary tales involved character arcs, beats, and
NDAs. It often helped Max to wonder, "What would Monte think?", . . .