Thursday, May 5, 2011

OMG Yellow?! (true story)

This post is really to give warning to be careful when allowing men to pick colors.

I now believe that my husband, while not necessarily color blind, does wear color blinders. I discovered this when he decided to repaint our house a few years ago. After a visit to Disneyland he decided that he really (really) liked the color of Mickey’s house. (A cute bright yellow and green)

Please make a note…never base a house color on a CARTOON.

What I didn’t realize is that he meant that he was going to paint the house EXACTLY like Mickeys. He went out and got the brightest yellow he could find. He called it “friendly” yellow…our neighbors refered to it as “OH MY GOD THAT'S A BRIGHT" yellow. Yeah, he painted our house OMG yellow. I made a joke about the astronauts seeing it from space, but that didn’t deter him…he said it made him smile. I, on the other hand felt the glare of the neighbors…and heard the whispers of “see…I told you…” and “Oh my god you weren't kidding”.

One evening we were having dinner with some friends and friends of friends who happened to be police officers and one happened to be a helicopter pilot. When we mentioned where we lived he asked us if we knew about the bright yellow house. My husband happily exclaimed that it was ours. I tried to pretend that I didn’t know nothin’ ‘bout no yellow house. (You got nothing on us coppers!) The officer responded with “No shit?”

“Why?” I asked him.

He laughed and told us that they use it for reference… you know… a landmark of sorts...a beacon. (A beacon!? Our house was a beacon for air traffic!!!)

“That’s it!” I shouted ”We are painting that house!”

The next day I went out and got a much softer shade of yellow. As I was painting the front of the house several neighbors came by to thank me. One elderly lady from the neighborhood actually stopped her car in the middle of the road, got out, walked up to me, and asked me if I was painting over the existing "cheerful looking yellow" as she put it. I hesitated for a second thinking that she might be disappointed. I eventually told her yes, and was prepared to explain the whole story. But, as soon as I said “yes” she shouted “Hallelujah! Bless you child” and went on her way.

I'm not sure I will ever quite understand the deep religious reactions people have toward yellow. I do know that if you are ever put in charge of painting a church you may want to consider yellow.

1 comment:

  1. I want a yellow house too. I will have to remember to choose carefully with your house in mind.

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