on purple

"My favorite color is PURPLE.

'You are a purple person if: You are imaginative, sensitive, artistic and sophisticated. You have noble ideals and a keen appreciation of the cultural. You are alert, demanding, foresighted, confident, resourceful, spontaneous and highly independent. You take delight in the beautiful, the gracious, the sensitive, but maintain an attitude of critical appraisal. In love you seek to attain a magical quality and refuse to settle for anything less. You refuse to be "swept-off your feet" unless genuineness and integrity can be absolutely ascertained. You are active in the support of things you believe in, and are concerned with the pursuit of truth and other human values. You take chances and believe that you must do so to make the most of what life has to offer. Purple is an exclusive color, mystical in quality, blending the two extremes of the spectrum, red and blue. Traditionally, purple represents splendor, dignity, royalty, rank, and wealth. Purple is a unique color, and it is a truly unique individual who holds it dear.' - copyright 1985 Louise Z. Berenson"

~ Michelle G.

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My mother's favourite colour is also purple.  She never wears it though, because when my dad was a little boy, he attended a funeral with an open casket, and the deceased was dressed in purple.  So my dad finds purple, particularly in clothing, incredibly depressing.

Even so, since she doesn't feel comfortable wearing it, I try to give her purple flowers as often as possible -- irises, usually.  And judging from the passage that Michelle G. shared above, it's totally obvious that despite her never wearing it, my mom is totally a purple person.

(Happy birthday, Mom!)

Image:  photographed in my friend Ali's front garden, in Eugene, Oregon.  Nikon D300, 50mm lens.  All part of my photographic scavanger hunt, inspired by Michelle G.'s comment.

Song: The sound of silence by Simon & Garfunkel.  For my mom.