Who is making the rules, anyhow?

Good gravy, this is the third time I have started this blog tonight. Nothing of note happened today, and I am sleepy from a great batch of rice and beans that I shared with Martian. There was a sale on rainbow sherbet at the grocery, that was a highlight. But, we are gaining an influx of African people, mostly Burundian, who also shop at this store, and it is charming to view the skirts, shawls, and scarves.

A family of six, two adults and four tiny children walked in at the same time as I did this afternoon. Most of the men and boys dress in Westernized garb, but the women and girls wrap up in beautiful, explosive cascades of color. The little girl, maybe five, wore a magenta patterned tunic paired with a pleated plaid skirt and white princess heeled shoes. I was thrilled. It was like looking at a flower. Investigate the combinations of color in nature, and most do not fit into any category of American attire. These newly arrived African and Asian folks bring a sense of the natural, of an identification with nature.

Pink blouses and yellow pants remind me of snapdragons. Maroon and orange together with a band of green are marigolds. Tell me the last time you saw a khaki colored anything, or an object tinted a solid tan that wasn't a rock. Look into a violet or pansy, and there lives purple and yellow close together with black or white in their throats. I'm all for it. My fashion of dress at work has earned me a reputation mostly because I'm rotten at matching things. To me, everything goes together, which saves a hell of a lot of time in the morning when getting dressed. I'm not colorblind, just enthusiastic.

When my son was in high school. one of the teachers would come dressed in cultural garb. She had been to Indonesia and had gotten hold of a dancer's costume with winged shoulders, turned up slippers, all in red and gold brocade. The kids were all WTF!?, but indeed, that is the point. Somewhere down the line, they may remember the angles, the colors, the reasons and reach beyond what they think they already know. Part of our job is shaping this next generation by giving them permission to go outside the lines.

I feel as if I could peel scales from my eyes, O Raphael, where are you? Bring me a fish to remove this optical thickness, archangel. I tumble.