My wife and I travel frequently from Shea Blvd. into Fountain hills by way of Palisades. It is such a great view during the day and it’s so nice and dark at night.

We were coming back from church and came upon the intersection at the top of the hill near Eagle Ridge Drive and the traditional greeting of Merry Christmas appeared. It was different this year! We seem to be giving greetings to “Pascal.” Usually we see “PEACE!” on the signage facing southwest but this day we see “PASCAL!”

Can this be the results of our taking “cursive” instruction out of the schools? Can it be the work of a school prank? Maybe the signage people who do this wonderful thing each year had mechanical difficulties?

Then it hit me…Perhaps the complex that places the sign up are a group of scientists and wanted to commemorate the Pascal, a pressure unit designated by the SI system. Better yet! They are a group of mathematicians who wanted to give Blaise Pascal, the French mathematician and inventor, a Christmas greeting, although he died in 1662.

It could be to wish well the inventor of programming language PASCAL, invented when I was in the 8th grade. (No! I am not going into my age.) It was invented to give the basis of structured programming style still used today.

Maybe the Sister Cities group has a French or Italian student they wanted to greet this year. That would be a wonderful way to show our welcome mat.

All joking aside, I want to thank the group that places this wonderful greeting on the Palisades hill year after year, for sharing your time, effort and finances. You give the town a memorable cheer and tradition that makes this such a great town to live in.