Characters I Have Known: Andy Maynard

Andy Maynard, Steve Semmler, Unknown, DB3 & Me

The 2 year anniversary of this blog is Friday.  Join me all week for some special looks back!


I first met Andy Maynard when we were both in Cub Scouts, sometime in the late 1960s.  His mom was one of our "Den Mothers," and I remember really liking him.  I knew that he was the youngest of several children, and the youngest by a long shot.  In fact, his father had coached my Dad in college!  Andy was a year younger than me, and after Scouts I lost track of him for a couple of years- until Steve Semmler talked me in to going to youth group with him at New Garden Friends Meeting when I was in the 8th grade.  Andy was a part of that group, and over the next several years he became a dear friend and one of my favorite all-time characters. I should preface all of these tales by letting you know that the young man I knew grew up to become Dr. Andy Maynard, getting his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Texas.  But back in the day- well, I'll let the stories speak for themselves!  Here are just a few of my Memories of Maynard...

• During the height of the Jaws phenomenon back in the late '70s, it was common place for people to put their hand on their hip and stick their elbow out of the water as if they had a fin.  The crowd would laugh and sing the Jaws theme music as these "attacks" took place.  Maynard took this to whole new level.  One year at high school camp at Quaker Lake he began to attack in the pool with great frequency, but he added his own touch to the performance.  Andy began to actually bite people!  On the leg, the arm or whatever was available.  He became known as Shark for his prowess in the pool- and he always came up smiling!
• Sometimes when the conversation would get deep, Maynard would look someone straight in the eye and ask, "Have you ever really considered helium?"  Never failed to crack everyone up!
• One summer our youth group was coming back from a Myrtle Beach trip when we stopped for lunch in Rockingham, NC.  Andy was someone who tanned very well (and this was back when we put on oil to attract the sun, not lotions to repel it!) and after our trip he was very dark.  McDonald's was in the midst of an advertising campaign for a new Banana Milk Shake, and several of us were excited to try one.  Maynard took off his shirt, put on his dark sun glasses and wrapped a bandanna around his head, then headed for the counter of the very crowded restaurant.  He stared in to the face of the young woman at the cash register for a moment, and then with his best Caribbean accent said in a very loud voice, "I want...BANANA!"  She jumped back from him, and half of the crowd moved away as well.  Our group was laughing so hard we couldn't see straight.  I could never go into a McDonald's on a youth trip without telling someone that story...
• I do not remember the circumstances under which it was first asked, but another famous Maynard query was this- "Have you ever considered a horse as a sphere?"  Makes no sense, but always made us laugh!

The group of people that comprised the youth group of New Garden Friends Meeting during my high school years is in large part responsible for most of the good qualities I have today.  Andy Maynard may have been the most unique member of the group, but he was not alone in his influence on me.  More on that tomorrow.


Because of Jesus,