Color My World

I just returned from a short (I hate that word) visit to Alabama to visit my parents. No, I am not from there, which you may have figured out from my accent.

The K-12 there have been on spring break this week, even though spring doesn't officially start until tomorrow. Then again, in Alabama it feels like spring. There are these funny things, ideas, that I think I remember are called "colors".

Allow me to give you a few examples:

Yellow: Daffodils!

• Not like the faded plum sized bruise on my arm which is kind of a gross pale yellow now, but a real bright happy sunny yellow that just makes you want to pick out of the neighbors yard.

Red: Tulips!

• Not the icky red of the burn on my left arm that I managed to create by burning myself taking crab cakes out of the oven. (The list of injuries may indicate an interest in red wine)

Green: Grass!

• Not the bright emerald green of a tacky plastic hat worn on St. Patrick's day.

Blue: Sky!

• Not pool water.

White: Pear blossoms!

• Brighter and whiter even than my winter legs, the cat hair on my black winter coat, or my gray hair (which I colored two weeks ago - did anyone notice???).

Back in Albany: at least the snow is retreating. But the world here is still brown and gray and windswept and smells like thawing dog shit as a winters worth of littering reveals itself. But I can tell it's spring because I work on a college campus. It think some of these kids ain't just been holdin' hands lately, but maybe I'm just jealous.

My spring was great. It was loverly to get a dose of warm weather and sunshine, to run outside, to sit on the porch and drink a cold glass of wine, to take in the sun and the flowers and the colors. It's coming folks: NY spring should be here anytime in the next few months, minus at least a bit more snow and sleet and hail.