X Marks The Canvas

This is the 24th week of the ABC meme that I am participating in.

The letter is X.

You don't hear very many people using words that begin with the letter X.  

So, of course I googled "words that begin with the letter x" and found a couple of impressive lists.

I only recognized two of the words, which I'm sure are the two words that everyone thinks of when asked to name a word that begins with the letter X.

Xerox (n) - the patented process for copying documents, and the name of a corporation. 

Xylophone (n) - a percussion instrument with a series of graduated wooden bars or metal tubes that is played by striking with two small mallets.

Oh wait a minute, sometimes when I am under a great deal of stress, which sadly happens a little too often lately, I am familiar with this word:

Xanax (n) - a pharmaceutical drug that is used to treat depression and anxiety.

One of the best uses for the letter X, though is this:

The letter X is also used in English as a symbolic representation of a kiss. Legend has it that in ancient times, illiterate people signed their names with a cross or an X, and then kissed the signature to indicate that they approve and blessed their signature.

Way back in the late 1980's, when I didn't need glasses, I spent a lot of time counting little squares and filling them with x's.

It's amazing how putting together a bunch of x's can turn a blank canvas into something like this.