Week 14: Cadillac Sedan Deville

I selected the Matchbox version of the 1969 Cadillac Sedan Deville for its color (lavender metallic flake).

Holiday lights are up in the neighborhood, and their colors elicit excitement from the kids, even if that excitement is drawn from the same decorated house we passed a few days ago...or earlier in the day...or a few minutes ago as we go by again to return home to grab the bag of stuff we forget on the step. Holiday lights are the quiet fireworks of December, and while everyone enjoys the classy illumination of the all white motif, the multicolored lights are what really bring out the ooohs and ahhhs from the kids. Color is a wonderful thing.

We have a prism glass that hangs in front of our kitchen window, and on sunny days at certain times, the light hits the glass just right and sprays rainbowlets across the floor and wall. Bubba G (20 months) will stop whatever he is doing to run after the floor rainbows and stomp on them, giggling -- sometimes, they even make him dance.

Such is the power of color.

As a kid, I had a car of similar color to the Caddy, but more pinkish metallic. That car (I can't remember the kind, but it was some fantasy car, perhaps a Johnny Lightning?) had an honored spot in the toy box for it's coloration, a tough pink, which seemed impossible, but there it was, like some powerful deep woods rarity of an animal in carburetored form. This was a car that could not be beat. Sometimes I imagined it was being driven by the mysterious Racer X (from the cartoon Speed Racer).

Colors seemed more intense and important as a kid.

I'm not saying colors are not amazing now, just that, as a kid, they were more.  

I had a Whammo Superball that was swirled deep blue and black, and 37 or so years later that color combination takes me back. I distinctly remember thinking that those two colors looked extremely cool together, and for months I was fixated on coloring pictures with my Crayola Midnight Blue and Black crayons.

The farther we move from that initial mindblowing wonder-flood of color we get in babyhood, the more we look for a little help to remind of us of the power of color. This help comes both naturally, such as with autumn leaves and crazy glow pink sunsets, and artificially, such as with laser light shows and paint swatches. 

But tell me, is there anyone, of any age (given the person has working eyesight and can register color), that doesn't get some type of rush from looking at a wall of paint swatches? Color, man, it is just the best.

Enjoy the colors of the holiday. If you're in the Midwest, such as myself, or in the north, you get the added benefit of a white backdrop of snow to emphasize the hues, but, if you're in warmer climates, well, you're warmer. But wherever you are, celebrate color. 

And listen, if you want to dance around a mini-rainbow in your kitchen, go ahead. You can sometimes learn, or re-learn, something from a colorful child.

Excellent photo with dramatic blue contrast (to jump start your color juices) courtesy of Phil Pekarcik.

Matchbox Cadillace Sedan Deville part of the Heritage Classic 2010 lineup.