Green and the Number Seven
As something of the Official Bostonian on this site, I have had a few things to say about the Marathon bombing and its aftermath. Now, however, I’m done, and I won’t importune you any longer. But I do want to say one more thing—not that it’s original in any way. That is, this horrible event and the following week gave many of us a view of news reporting we might not have had otherwise. There have been some unexpected bright spots of sheer competence, but far more sinkholes of inadequacy.
Don’t worry. I’m not going to complain about them, not even the bloviating sophisticates in New York and other international locations who have no clue about life in Boston but write about it anyway.
No, I’m going to leave the subject with a quote from Garrison Keillor. Years ago, he was in the midst of controversy, mostly with the St. Paul, Minnesota Pioneer Press (“Gastric Distress” as Keillor called it), and mostly about his morals. I recall him saying something like the following on his radio show:
If you know the reality of a situation, the relationship between truth and a newspaper is like the relationship between the color green and the number seven. Occasionally you will see the number seven written in green, but you learn not to expect this.
I’ve seen a few green sevens, mostly painted in Boston, but far more blue, red, polka-dot and paisley ones than I like to think about. Time to pick another number.
Ambiance 
kngfish said,
April 24, 2013 at 10:54 am
I tend to see green sevens on the craps table….and what does THAT say?
mockturtle said,
April 24, 2013 at 11:05 am
Keillor was spot-on.
Timothy Burnett said,
April 24, 2013 at 12:52 pm
kngfish: You’ve been told the truth?
chickelit said,
April 25, 2013 at 7:31 pm
Tim, your anecdote about barely seeing a green number seven made me think of this.
chickelit said,
April 25, 2013 at 7:33 pm
Over that also fits with the current social themes of colorblindedness.
Spell check redlines colorblindedness. What is the correct term?
chickelit said,
April 25, 2013 at 7:34 pm
colorblindness?
TT Burnett said,
April 25, 2013 at 10:30 pm
My British friends would have it colourblindedness. I like British spelling. It’s like eating with your fork turned upside down in your left hand and your knife in your right, or eating your salad last: It conveys an air of sophistication, no matter how sloppy you really are or what bad grammar you use.
Also, a great “seven,” chickelit! I like its polkadottedness.
karen said,
April 26, 2013 at 7:53 pm
lol about the backward, left-handed fork as i am now eating w/a backward, left-handed fork:0).
The sophistication is in the colourblinded eye of your mind, TT!
Trust me.
TT Burnett said,
April 26, 2013 at 8:41 pm
As I say, “air” of sophistication ;-)
LouiseM said,
April 26, 2013 at 10:10 pm
Even more ethereal and nebulous!
The cow (bb?) knows it’s all in the hat. Which might explain the desire to ingest and ruminate on that which others hold in high esteem and place at the top of the heap (metaphorically speaking, of course).