The Shade of the Joshua Tree
preface
Pueblo Indians paint their doors turquoise to fend off bad spirits.
Roma told her mother that when she got home from school on that ripe summer day. Technically, it was always summer in the beautiful life she lived within the state lines of Nevada. ‘Beautiful’ was truthfully an understatement. Roma’s parents were happy, Roma was happy with her parents, and they all loved each other and reminded each other every single day. Seven was a golden age for Roma; when her greatest worries were climbing over fences and chasing the neighborhood boys and running in sprinklers during the heat of the afternoon.
Roma’s mother was intrigued, or maybe it was Roma’s seven year old excitement that bubbled over her like unwatched spaghetti on their green stove’s eye that made her think her mother was intrigued. So mother and daughter ventured down to the hardware store.
Old men talked in the parking lot, some smoking cigarettes while they leaned over their pickup trucks and spoke to each other in raspy voices that dripped in life experience. The distant mountains were an other-worldly backdrop to the rather humble hardware store. Roma’s mother held her daughter’s hand as they both decided on the right hue to purchase.
Once at home, Roma’s mother set down a tarp on the carpeting of the young girl’s room. “Mommy, why are we painting the inside of the door?” Roma whined. That was not how the Indians did it.
“You should protect yourself from bad spirits from the insides first.” Roma’s mother used a tone that reminded Roma who was the boss and who got the final say.
They painted their front door this shocking turquoise afterwards. It was rather odd to see a tan, Mediterranean style home with a bright turquoise door, but it was what made the house a home to Roma.
Though, as she grew older, she realized that a simple hue could not protect her from anything. The stark blue did not prevent the government from deeming her parents, investigative reporters, potentially dangerous suspects after they took on a story about the famed Area 51. This becoming color did not stop Christian Fowler from finding her. Turquoise didn’t prevent jack shit when the government began chasing her for her alleged 'knowledge.'
So whenever someone tells you that blue doors fend away bad spirits, Remember this:
Roma Martinez is the exception.
Roma told her mother that when she got home from school on that ripe summer day. Technically, it was always summer in the beautiful life she lived within the state lines of Nevada. ‘Beautiful’ was truthfully an understatement. Roma’s parents were happy, Roma was happy with her parents, and they all loved each other and reminded each other every single day. Seven was a golden age for Roma; when her greatest worries were climbing over fences and chasing the neighborhood boys and running in sprinklers during the heat of the afternoon.
Roma’s mother was intrigued, or maybe it was Roma’s seven year old excitement that bubbled over her like unwatched spaghetti on their green stove’s eye that made her think her mother was intrigued. So mother and daughter ventured down to the hardware store.
Old men talked in the parking lot, some smoking cigarettes while they leaned over their pickup trucks and spoke to each other in raspy voices that dripped in life experience. The distant mountains were an other-worldly backdrop to the rather humble hardware store. Roma’s mother held her daughter’s hand as they both decided on the right hue to purchase.
Once at home, Roma’s mother set down a tarp on the carpeting of the young girl’s room. “Mommy, why are we painting the inside of the door?” Roma whined. That was not how the Indians did it.
“You should protect yourself from bad spirits from the insides first.” Roma’s mother used a tone that reminded Roma who was the boss and who got the final say.
They painted their front door this shocking turquoise afterwards. It was rather odd to see a tan, Mediterranean style home with a bright turquoise door, but it was what made the house a home to Roma.
Though, as she grew older, she realized that a simple hue could not protect her from anything. The stark blue did not prevent the government from deeming her parents, investigative reporters, potentially dangerous suspects after they took on a story about the famed Area 51. This becoming color did not stop Christian Fowler from finding her. Turquoise didn’t prevent jack shit when the government began chasing her for her alleged 'knowledge.'
So whenever someone tells you that blue doors fend away bad spirits, Remember this:
Roma Martinez is the exception.