By Louie Ferrera

Blue is many things, it’s a color, a feeling, a state of mind. There is much under the umbrella that we call blue.

It is said that eyes are the window to the soul and for me, no eyes provide a clearer view than blue eyes. I’ve often become mesmerized when  I look into my son’s eyes, they are a deep and vibrant shade of blue that defies description. His eyes came from his mother, who’s eyes came from her father. Carol’s  lovely blue eyes are the first thing I noticed about her when we were first introduced. The gentle, laughing eyes of my friend Peter were a key element of an acid trip that we took together at a Grateful Dead show back in the 90’s. My mom’s all time favorite singer is Frank Sinatra, famously known as Old Blue Eyes.

How about the sky! The word blue was surely invented in order to describe its’ color. I love watching a cloudless sunset at the beach. Once the sun dips below the horizon is when the real show begins. Every shade of blue that ever was or will ever be exists in one of those sunsets; from the palest of baby blues to the deepest of indigos. Speaking of that pale blue, my dear friend Marise has those color eyes and I think of her every time I see a sunset like that. I know there’s a scientific explanation as to why the sky is blue, but I like to think of it as pure magic.

The planet Neptune is blue, have you seen the photos? It’s a perfect lapis lazuli marble against the infinite blackness of space, by far the most glittering jewel among all of the planets in our solar system. Viewed from space Earth is aptly know as the Blue Planet because of the color of our oceans. At the beach though, the deep blue sea isn’t always so. On a cloudy day the sun dips in and out of hiding, painting the sea in shifting hues from olive green to cerulian blue. The turquoise waters of Hawaii never fail to fill my heart with wonder.

Technically, blueberries are a shade of purple, but who makes up these silly rules anyway? Blueberries look pretty blue to me. Every spring and summer, the railing on our backyard deck is covered in a riotous tangle of morning glory vines There are many different colored blossoms, my favorites of course are the blue ones, they are a deep hue that vibrates whenever the sun hits their faces. Our resident flock of hummingbirds love these flowers too and spend lots of time probing them for their sweet nectar.

On my trip to Egypt in the summer of 1995 while wandering through a vast outdoor market in Cairo one afternoon I stumbled upon a long table covered with multi-colored, pyramid-like piles of spices. Among these mini pyramids was a striking voilet-blue pile of the dye indigo. How did the Indigo Girls get their name? Perhaps they too were enchanted by indigo at an Egyptian market?

One of my most treasured books is Beneath The Blue Umbrella by renowned children’s  author Jack Prelutsky. This book was given to me by my wife Carol. She wrote a sweet inscription to me inside the front cover. These poems are whimsical and sweet and were a favorite of the first and second graders that I once taught.

Of course blue is also sad. You know, feeling blue, got the blues, in a blue mood. Not sure where that comes from. What would music be like today without the blues? Blues music is the seed kernel that begat rock and roll. No blues, no Elvis, no Chuck Berry, no Beatles, no Stones. The likes of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf are the roots from which all rock and roll sprouted. Blue by Joni Mitchell is widely recognized as her finest album and a record that has inspired a generation of singer-songwriters. A photo of Joni is barely visible among the blue, almost black of the albums’ cover. On Blue, Joni took the deep sadness and uncertainty of her life at the time and turned it into a timeless masterpiece. One of the most joyous songs in the Allman Brothers’ catalogue is Blue Sky. Written by guitarist Dickie Betts, this love song was inspired by his girlfriend at the time Sandy Blue Sky. “You’re my blue sky, you’re my sunny day. Lord you know it makes me high when you turn your love my way.” Anyone who’s ever been in love has most surely felt like this, it’s the moment of loves’ inception when you look past the eyes and into the heart. 

A “blue dichotomy” exists all over the music world. You’ve got your “blue happy” songs (Irving Berlin’s Blue Skies), and your “blue sad” songs (Elvis’ Blue Christmas).  All of the blue songs, happy and sad, are too numerous to recount here! There’ve been blue bands too. Sixties one hit wonders Swingin’ Blue Jeans and psychedelic garage rockers Blues Magoos. Blue Cheers’ definitive version of Summertime Blues is a “grunge before there was grunge” feedback drenched classic.

If you’ve raised a child over the past twenty years you must be well acquainted with Blues Clues. Hosted by the affable Steve (and later Joe) this beloved kids tv show for the five and under crowd featured the eponymous “Blue”, a large animated dog who helped Steve/Joe solve mysteries by leaving clues. We and our kids never missed an episode.

Remember those double-barreled popsicles, the ones with the two wooden sticks? I wonder if they still make them. As a kid I loved these, my favorites being the blue ones, “blue skies’ I called them.

The tastiest tortillas I’ve ever eaten were made from blue corn. One day while Carol and I were traveling in Guatemala we watched a Mayan woman at an outdoor market in a tiny mountain village make these from scratch. We later ate these tortillas with slices of fresh cheese. I’ll never forget the flavor. 

Blue has always been my favorite color. I’m generally a “blue happy” person. Blue is soothing and peaceful. Blue is a crisp autumn day in October. Blue is a windswept expanse of deserted beach. Sometimes I can just get lost in blue.