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Keith E. Maynard
I stand and admire life having sprung from a seed, nature at its peak. Formed by the sun, water, nutrients, wind, and providence it stands unique. Each branch tells a story of survival, its ultimate fate guaranteed. Following, formed by nature and nurture, are my stories.


Are You a Regular at Any of Your Local Restaurants?
The quick answer, none. But… with that said, let me share the restaurants I remember as a teenager back in Elmira, New York. Loved it. Number one on my list. The occasions were rare, but treasured. Family, sometimes extended family and friends, would precede after Sunday morning church services to Curly’s Chicken House https://www.curlyschicken.com/ Established in 1955 still exists today. Not fancy, but the food, prepared using “secret” family recipes, is always scrumptious.


Which Fads Did You Embrace While Growing Up?
I recall one fad I sought to follow with a tragic ending, a wardrobe fad. My parents were “believers in the essentials.” For Sunday...


How Has Your Life Turned Out Differently Than You Imagined It Would?
I envisioned ending up homeless, standing on a corner, collecting handouts, surviving off the kindness of strangers. Growing up had three...


Who Do You Consider Your Icons, and Why?
Icon a person or thing widely admired especially for having dominant influence or significance in a particular sphere. Perhaps: … a...


What is One of the Most Expensive Things That You've Ever Bought?
I was probably eleven or twelve, living in Horseheads, New York, maybe thirteen. I saw someone wearing a black onyx ring with their...


Are You Still Friends With Any of Your Classmates From Grade School?
No. Had a few friends in New York, and then, when we snuck off to Arizona, left them all behind. Arrived in Arizona as a High School...


What Sport Teams were You a Fan of as a Child?
I was far more interested in participating in sports than in being a spectator. My grandfather, Thomas was a fan of the Green Bay Packers...


What are Some of Your Favorite Sounds?
My favorite sounds? Birds singing, rain on the roof, walking in the snow, or a television, volume low, playing in the background as I...


Have You Pulled Any Great Pranks?
I didn’t I don’t enjoy being the butt of a ‘prank’ and the idea of being the prankster is anathema. A prank, a practical joke or...


Who Did You Go To the Prom With?
Dancing was a sin, it stirs the passions leading to sex or at the very least impure thoughts. They warned me to lust mentally, in my...


What Is the Farthest You Have Ever Traveled?
One way, by auto, from Elmira, New York to Tucson, Arizona is two thousand, three hundred nine and six-tenths miles. Double that if a...


What Foods Do You Dislike?
Liver (could smell it a mile from home) Liver and onions (even when covered with ketchup) Variety of vegetables, i.e. broccoli, Lima...


What Are Some of Your Family Traditions?
Oxford Languages defines traditions as the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed...


What Was the Neighborhood You Grew Up In Like?
I grew up in neighborhoods, if labeled today, classified as middle class. Dad worked for New York State Electric and Gas. Normally, five...


How Do You Get Your News? What News Interest You?
Until recently, I had a subscription to the local newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star . A source of local news, national news, and a way to...


When Did You Get Your First Car?
I might consider this 1960ish Rambler Station wagon a classic today, but back in my day was clearly not a vehicle one cruised up and down...


How Did You Decide to Change Jobs?
I envisioned myself as a child, standing alone on a street corner, asking for handouts. Living on the streets. I felt there were few in...


What Is Your Best Relationship Advice?
You would think after seventy-plus years of traveling through the universe, including fifty-plus years of marriage, I would have a clue....


What is One of Your Favorite Children's Story?
As a child, my stories sermonized, embedded with moral lessons coming from the Bible (King James Version). Noah and the Ark, the Creation...


What Was Your First Big Trip (to Arizona)
The doctor was clear, matter of fact. The only thing that will help Kathy is moving to Arizona, the desert. For several years she had...
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