Julian always loved bright colors, and sported them all beautifully, but pink was his all-time favorite.
Any shade or hue of it.
On his happiest of days, Julian wore his pink bi-focal glasses, pink watch, pink socks, pink belt and a hot pink sweater to top it all off.
Once he got to work, he enthusiastically took out his lucky pink notepad and pink pen. And he loved using his pink post-its for short lists.
Finally, after the work day ended, he came back to his home – where he was greeted by pink carpeting, pink printed walls, pink home décor accents to match the interior of his house, and of course his pink bed sheets at bedtime.
Julian’s grown kids and grandchildren came over to check on him every weekend. For years they tried shifting Julian’s color preferences. He didn’t have any interest in their suggestions, and slowly started adding pink touches to their childhood rooms.
Julian’s six children finally gave into his color preferences and passions.
Now they bring him pink flowers every time they visit. In return, they always get pink Hershey kisses on their way out.
Sally Augustin has a PhD in Psychology, is Principal at Design with Science and lives in La Grange Park, Ill.
“In our culture, pink is associated with femininity,” Sally said. “However, if you really look at pink, generally the pinks people use actually have a lot of blue in them.”
“Pinks would probably be quite a relaxing color,” she said. “All this pink would help keep it all together.”
Sally said generally, but not always, people who are extroverted prefer more energizing colors, while people who are introverted prefer a calmer, environmental experience.
Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this short story, excluding interviews, are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
