crayola
when i was young, i remember the biggest status symbol in kindergarten and first grade was to come to class not with the 8 color crayola crayon box, nor the 16 color box, nor even the 32 color box, but the big, honkin’ 64 color box that also had the little crayon sharpening hole on the back side. oh what joy to be able to choose between burnt sienna and mahogany. between dandelion and goldenrod. and, most importantly, between cornflower and the very best of all of the 64 colors: periwinkle. i think i am in love with the roadside chicory flowers in france mostly because chicory blue is the closest real life has ever come to imitating the perfection of periwinkle.
chickory
My favorite color as a kid was cornflower blue, so unlike “normal” blues. A few years ago my boss called me while I was shopping at Walmart to tell me I was getting a significant raise (I work remote, so it’s not that weird). i happened to be in the kids craft aisle during the call, and picked up a 64 box of crayons as a treat. I was heartbroken to learn cornflower blue was missing because it was discontinued years ago! Thankfully my best friend had a huge old box of crayons and found an original cornflower blue crayon for me. So I now have a 65 color box.
Love your story RattleFox! I too love(d) the 64 crayola box; it was the best part of going back to school. I also love this blog because I keep learning the names of roadside flowers & plants that are so lovely but I had no idea what they were.