Tonight I am writing to you from Honolulu, where I am visiting Paul’s 92 year old mother. She lives alone now, since we lost Paul’s dad, so we worry about her. She is keeping herself busy by knitting slippers and crocheting leis (Hawaiian-style garlands) for visitors and fundraisers. Her house is full of her paintings, but she can no longer see well enough to paint. However she still plays cards with friends once a week, and gets out to have lunch, or catch a film. We hope we can be that active at 92!
I had a great long weekend in San Diego at the Color Marketing Group conference, excluding the near-hurricane winds the night before I left! All of my fellow Color Geeks were there and we had a great time talking over current and long-term color trends. However the shocking events in Paris, could not help but color our predictions for the future. Over the weekend we watched as Facebook and landmarks around the world turned Red White and Blue – the colors of the French flag. All the complex color theories we had discussed, suddenly ground to a halt, as the world turned to the primary colors of France’s banner. We also discussed how difficult it is to predict future colors when we can’t predict the outcome of a presidential election. (If the US elects their first woman president for instance, it would be a huge influence on color trends.)
Let me say again (if you missed our weekend newsletter) that our hearts and minds are turned to the people of Paris, and we are sending you a big quilted hug across the Atlantic, and wishing you comfort and peace. It is impossible to comprehend how you are navigating the emotions and uncertainty of the aftermath, so we will pray for peace and healing.
On Sunday after the color conference, I went out to the San Diego Zoo. I had not been to the zoo for decades, and I knew they have Giant Panda bears and African Elephants, so I called an Uber car and headed off on a photo safari. After taking the Tram across the HUGE park, I walked down to the Panda Trek. It was the only place where I had to stand in line to get a glimpse of an animal. The young male panda was hiding because some kids had been yelling, but the 24 year old mother panda was happily out facing the crowd, chewing on her pile of bamboo. I was so excited to be able to photograph a real live panda! As you may know, our daughter Sophie was adopted from China, and she has always loved anything having to do with pandas. You can click on this link to learn more about the Giant Panda bears, and watch them on a Live Cam.
So this is my happy bear hug to all of you, and especially to our friends in Paris.
I’ll be flying home on a Red-Eye Thursday night, back in the office Friday.
Aloha!
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