My World is Blue -- part 1

Frank Sinatra performed

Blue, blue, my world is blue

Blue is my world since I'm without you

Gray, gray, my life is gray

Cold is my heart since you went away

 authored by Popp and Cour

In February, 2006, my dog, a white Labradoodle puppy, was doused in blue dye; you can recreate the exact color by using #450 Blue on the Rit Color guide.  My daughter intended to tie-dye ten pairs of sports socks for her middle-school basketball team.  Unfortunately, one of her friends chose to toss out the water containing the dye at precisely the instant my husband let the dog outside.  The two doors that my husband and my daughter’s friend used are separated by forty feet and a hill, but the dog covered that distance lickety-split.  I can replay the moment in slow-motion.  The blue dye liquid soared about six feet into the air, appearing in deep contrast to the white snow.  Simultaneously, my exuberant, white, dog bounded downhill.  The Labradoodle puppy passed under the fountain of blue.  Gravity doing its work, pulled the blue dye toward the ground.  The dog simply interrupted the dye’s trajectory. At the ensuing sounds of dismay and distress, the puppy became more excited.  He was ill-behaved as if he had never been trained.  He ran leapt and jumped in circles around everyone, leaving a blue trail in his wake. Two washings did little to alter his new blue coat.  However, the dye finally “set” and didn’t rub off on walls, furniture and clothing.  For about two months, the dog glowed -- in a nearly electric blue.    There were tears and recriminations and emotional distress in the hours immediately after.   It took a couple of days for the brouhaha to settle down.  It took a couple of years for us all to laugh at the blue dye debacle.   

Part 2 of The World is Blue will follow tomorrow.