Month: August 2023

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Remembering Alice

The Ahwatukee community mourns the loss of a great friend, teammate, and citizen.  Alice Maynard passed away on August 20, 2023, and will be remembered as someone who was always busy helping other people.  Whether it was for charity or fundraising events at the Ahwatukee Recreation Center or Color Guard services with the American Legion Post 64, Alice was the embodiment of Selfless Service.

Photos by Steve Smull

As the Commander of the Ahwatukee American Legion Post, I honor and salute Alice for the countless hours of support and sacrifice she gave to so many active-duty military members and veterans.  She never stood idle and actively volunteered in numerous groups including: Support the Troops, American Legion Auxiliary and Color Guard, Ahwatukee Recreation Center (ARC), and the RD-1 sub HOA.

Alice moved to Phoenix from Illinois in 1999 following the death of her husband, Harold L. Maynard, who was a Marine veteran and served in the Korean War.   For over two decades she was active in the ARC activities and enjoyed swimming, water volleyball, and lawn bowling.

I first met Alice in 2018 when I joined the American Legion Post at the ARC and was immediately impressed with her kindness and generosity at every monthly membership meeting.   She always made sure that the attendees of our events had a full spread of food, desserts, and drinks.   I especially loved it when she made her deviled eggs for special occasions.  

Alice donated her time and her talents to make the world a better place for those in need and those who served their country.  She participated in Honor Guard flag folding ceremonies that gave the solemn respect to deceased veterans and their families.  

Words can’t adequately describe the impact of the loss of Alice Maynard to her family and friends. It is my hope that this article provides some sense of the large amount of respect and admiration many felt for her.   I have been active in volunteer service organizations for decades and Alice was the most loyal and dedicated person I have ever had the pleasure of working with.   Alice was a patriot and always spoke her mind.  She was passionate and caring, fierce and determined.

As someone 30 years her junior, I greatly admired Alice’s energy and often wondered where it came from.  Perhaps it was her sense of Selfless Service.   

All I know for sure is that Alice’s contributions to our organizations and community will be sorely missed, fondly remembered, and greatly appreciated.  

RIP Alice

July 30, 1938- August 20, 2023

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Does anybody really know what time it is?

I’m in a funky, themed house with dozens of clocks- all standing (or tilting) still with different times.

I even wrote on the wall in the kitchen- “Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?” These lines are from a great song by the band Chicago and it got me thinking. Is there any one thing that two humans can agree upon? Is the time on the clock the one thing that we are on the same page about?

Some of my friends are always early while others are always late. Why is that?

Could it be that the perception of time is unique to each individual mind?

Some people seem to appreciate and value time more than others. Some people are obsessive about time while others pay it no mind.

The one thing that is common to the majority of humans is that we don’t know when our time on this planet is up. If we all are on a “lifespan timer” or have a known expiration date (like in the movie Logan’s Run) , we would be better off ? Animals don’t be to care about this and they are always living fully in the moment .

How many humans live fully in the present moment? Why do so many people seem fixated on the past or worried about the future? Do our many clocks and time constraints drive this?

So many questions but not many answers on this topic. But what can I expect when I seated at the Tea-Party table in the Mad Hatter House (a cool AirBnB in Flagstaff, Arizona)?

“We are all quite Mad here” it says on the wall- plus “ It’s always tea time”.

Hopefully you will find more time for creativity and fun in this life.

After all , we don’t always know what time it is.

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Solving for X

As a proud member of Generation X, I sat in a café at Hotel V in Amsterdam and pondered the meaning of the red, black and white XXX flags I kept seeing on the boats and buildings of the beautifully damp city.   I asked the Dutch waitress (probably Gen Z) what the significance of the 3 Xs was, and she said she didn’t know but she came back 20 minutes later to explain that it represented the three values of Amsterdam- Valiant, Steadfast and Compassionate.

Flags flying at Hotel in Amsterdam

After doing more research on the topic, I learned that the Xs are taken from the coat of arms of Amsterdam which consists of red shield with three silver (white) St. Andrew’s crosses on a black stripe, the imperial crown of Austria, two golden lions and the motto of the city– Heldhaftig (heroic), Vastberaden (resolute), Barmhartig (merciful).

So the mystery was solved and I was happy to know that the triple Xs didn’t represent the infamous red-light district of Amsterdam!

The letter X has been on my mind lately and certainty front and center in the news as Elon Musk boldly rebranded the company Twitter to X.  Mr. Musk even erected a huge, white light X sign on the top of the HQ building in San Francisco, which the city ordered him to remove within 3 days.   

The future of X is unknown but it’s eXciting nonetheless.

Other reasons I’ve been interested in all things X lately are:

1) the generational differences and challenges among Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials and Gen Zers.

2) the focus of the biology of female sex chromosomes XX in the context of Transgender ideology and the Save Women Sports movement.

 3) the many symbolic, mysterious and seemingly opposite meanings:  harmony and balance, censorship and porn, toxicity and error, and death and rebirth.

What does it all mean?

As an eager student in 8th grade Algebra class, I was always excited when I would “solve for X”.  I loved setting up the equations and writing out the values of the known variables.  The challenge was a fun puzzle that made sense to me.

As a driven IT professional and sci-fi nerd in the 1990s, I was a super fan of the X-Files and even changed my hairstyle and color to emulate Agent Scully.

As a curious traveler and writer, I marvel at the rich history and meaning in the Old World’s art, flags, and symbols.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

X marks the spot of the buried treasure and is clearly the Most Powerful Letter in the alphabet. Its countless meanings in the areas of science, algebra, sports, astronomy and spirituality. Symbolizing Danger, a Kiss, a Strike, the Unknown, Death, Transcendence, Poison, Sex, and Rejection– this letter is amazingly mystifying.

There is so much more to share on this topic, but I like to keep my blogs short, so I’ll end with this.

As an inquisitive member of Generation X, I feel more affinity than ever to the extraordinary letter X.  People born between the years 1965 and 1980 tend not to want to be defined and don’t like labels (especially “latchkey kids”).  I do agree that most Gen Xer are independent, resourceful, and flexible. Plus, my generation inspired the incredible series Stranger Things.  

While I don’t think I’ve Solved for X in this brief article, I have exposed more of its significance and history.

I encourage you to explore more on the magical meaning of X and perhaps you can solve for it.