a color story: an old hyundai santa fed and the copper pan

I used up all the succulent soil and I needed to get more. Along the way to Canadian Tire, I noticed a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fed. This was the model that has transported me to many high school extracurricular activities. The car I saw even had the same copper exterior.

Back then, we did not have a garage so Canadian winters brought in another set of chores. There was one instance when a friend and I were running a bit late before a hockey game. The passenger doors were not able to open due to the ice. Instead of using the hand scraper, my friend started to kick the ice away; a technique that was familiar to him. It was a novel approach and he made it look fun. I joined in and we were able to break through the ice in record time. On the following day, I noticed the areas that we kicked caused inward dimples on the car's exterior. 

So, why did I feel an emotional connection when I saw the old Hyundai Santa Fed recently? It is not like that certain model completely vanished on the roads. I probably see that exact car every time I drive to McDonalds or Canadian Tire. Did I not get closure from the dimples ever since? It has been a decade since the car has been replaced anyways. 

In the past week, I have been interacting with the color, copper while cleaning dishes. Once again, a family member had the audacity to burn food on the copper coated pan - a rookie mistake and an annoying one. He or she would never admit it and they would explain that the food burned themselves. Every time I hear that excuse, it always made me chuckle. Even though the pan was 50 percent off at Canadian Tire, I would bring it back to pristine condition. 

The sponge would rip at the initial cleaning attempt. Burnt food would have yellow sponge remnants if you treat it like a normal dirty pan. I would make this mistake every single time. Then, I thought about scratching it away with a butter knife but this technique would ruin the copper coat. So, I left hot water with soap on the pan and leave it out for hours. When I come back to it, I would dump the dish soap water off the pan and try scrubbing it away again. Only 30 percent would come off. I would repeat the process until the burnt food disappears.

Tedious as it was, I would make sure that the copper didn't have anybody's guilty imprints. 

I noticed the old Hyundai Santa Fed because I recently engaged with somebody's guilt on a frying pan. Personally, I haven't burnt food on a pan but I was guilty of creating dimples on a vehicle's exterior. The color, copper was the connecting factor between the two.   

In this sense, color is a reminder.