In the Pink

I was talking to my mom this morning and mentioned the jacket that I bought at Ace Hardware this past weekend. "What?" she asked. "You buy your clothes at the hardware store?"

Actually, Ace has turned more into a general store rather than a strictly hardware store. They had to in order to stay in business. There are only three in my area (none close to me), so when I'm in the vicinity, I drop in and see what's there.

I bought a drain strainer basket (to catch dog hair in the shower - where I knew DM was going to wash the dogs later), a Coke Zero, and a jacket. It was one of those sweat-shirt material jackets with a hood on it and a zipper up the front. And it was pink.

I wore it to work today. First, DM commented. "Pink? You aren't a pink girl! Whatever possessed you to buy a pink jacket?"

Then a couple of the women at work asked about it.

Apparently no one thinks "pink" when they think of me.

I passed Chuck in the hallway and said hello, but all the way down the hall he was giving me the oddest look - like something was different but he couldn't figure out what it was.

Later I was standing in the hall trying to remember where I was going when Charles came out of his office and looked at me standing there, and said, "Did I see you in pink earlier today?"

I mentioned these wondering conversations to another co-worker, who said, "but you look good in pink! Why don't you wear it?"

Why indeed? Well I used to wear pink quite a bit. I had a couple of pink shirts that I loved and wore until they literally fell apart. But I think I was in my 20s then. In my 30s, I developed rosacea and I guess I figured that wearing pink would just make me too red. I don't wear red much either for the same reason.

And frankly, I don't have a "pink" personality. Not much girly about me. I don't do jewelry, dresses or heels unless it would be rude not to. I wear a lot of blue and black and brown. Some green. But not white, pink or yellow.

Apparently I am quite scary to some people. Fierce. Silent. Intimidating. I've got that "cop walk" so that even the muggers think twice about accosting me. How else did I manage to walk freely around Washington DC and NYC after dark, alone, and never been robbed or even approached?

No. I'm not pink.

But perhaps I should wear it more often.