The Shocking Pink Blues

Defying stereotypes I'm here to tell you men that women don't own pink and there is no earthly reason why you can't wear it...gays and lesbians don't own violet or lavender...blacks don't own black or brown...the Emperor can't kill you anymore for wearing purple...there is no Emperor but the Supercomputer to which colors are only binaries...does that explain this bright pink notebook you asked about man?...wait I'll show you the violet shirt in my van-closet...I wear it now and then to confuse people...for your information I bought this bright pink notebook to inspire me to write about women...the more I write about them the less I know about women & the more I learn about myself...go figure...KNOW THYSELF...this tragi-comic old clown sitting at sidewalk table in Marigny...late-afternoon dissipating heat...not a wisp of moving air in the sky...the clouds have stopped...birds are suffocating...writing about...ha ha...women...in a pink notebook...I get some looks let me tell you...some women look at me like I am trying to get away with something...I want them to think I'm interesting...they aren't at all interested...guys look at me like I am just weird...maybe I am.



Heterosexual men unite!...we can't let the women get away with this...I liked pink before I ever heard of women...pink roses pink houses pink Cadillacs pink dresses pink elephants pink ribbons pink panthers pink trees pink pussies ...lovely color...have you heard about the pink tree?...this gal...an artist...Elizabeth Underwood of Art in Action...driving thru I think the 9th Ward after Katrina...comes on this dead tree in a yard...asks the guy on the porch can I paint this tree pink?...paint the tree pink?...yes paint it pink...you from the city?...I been calling the city about stuff around here...no I just want to paint the tree...pink?...yes pink...sure why not go ahead paint it pink...so she sets up in this neighborhood wasteland and begins...takes awhile..."She worked hard!" the guy tells NPR...she strips away bark snaps twigs paints only so far up...she wanted to contrast dead upper part with bubblegum pink trunk...what you can do with a dead tree...she wanted people to turn the corner and be surprised...neighbors watch cool amazed amused...they bring her nourishment...fried chicken biscuits coffee eggs grits soda pop the works...they lounge around the tree laughing and talking to her and everybody loves this pink tree...ha, ha!...dead tree never looked so good...have you ever heard the like?...I only read about it...only seen in this photo...on my list of things-to-see...where is that list?...oh here it is with my lists of books-to-read and films-to-see...I'll get to them all if I live to 125.



I'm calling a half-million-man march on the ancestral home of Gertrude Stein...straight men only...we wear pink violet and lavender to protest this outrageous attempt to stake a claim on colors...outlandish idea...okay you can use them for symbols but they don't belong to you see?...call Sherwin Williams maybe they will concoct your color & call it Political Pink...if I ever own a house you can bet I'm going to paint it pink with black trim...been planning it for years...fancy 50's color scheme...extreme contrast...black and pink Plymouths I remember...furniture houses interior decor motorboats even bicycles...it was the fashion for awhile...but mine will be a geodesic dome if I have my way...a five-frequency triacontrahedronal geodesic dome on a pentagonal base...pink and black...and yes I can design and build it myself...with a couple of extra hands...all I have to do is win the lottery or write a best-seller.





I will wrestle any woman who challenges my right to paint my geodesic dome pink...this an open challenge...anywhere anytime...I'll meet you and may the best man win...if you lose you must carry an olive green notebook for a year...no cheating...in fact you will be monitored...you will be alloted no pink for a year...no pink notebooks pink shirts pink bicycles pink panties or any of that...there will be random inspections...I will perform them...to equalize the pain if I lose rassling match I will give up cigarettes...for a year...and you can copy my pink notebook...but I'm not giving it up.



Then there is Brad Pitt's project in the 9th Ward...all these fabric models have been turned into collectible handbags...Underwood & Pitt...sounds like a law firm but only two of many artist-heroes of post-Katrina New Orleans...spreading hope like fresh butter on this strange old proud and recovering city.



Photo by Crista Rock/Facebook