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OUR YUCAIPA | DECEMBER 2014 11 The Middle of the Road: By Randy Peters, a middle-aged, middle-income, middle-school teacher One of my favorite Christmas carols starts, "Said the night wind to the little lamb, 'Do you see what I see?'" It is very touching as the lamb is asked if it hears and knows the same things that the singer hears and knows. It makes me wonder if we truly see the same things that others see. When I was 10 years old I often wondered if others saw colors the same way I did. When I looked at red, I saw red. What if others saw it as green but called it red? How would anyone know? Perhaps I see a blue sky. You might see an orange sky and still marvel at its infinite beauty. It doesn't mean either of us is wrong; we just see it differently. I know this is weird, but we were just leaving the 1960s and entering the decade of disco. I think it left its mark on my thinking. My questions about color and how things looked might make more sense if I tell a story about my dad. My dad never quite embraced the idea of matching or complementary colors. He would wear some interesting combinations. When we commented, his response was always, "Of course they match. They're all colors, aren't they?" As I look around our town of Yucaipa, I wonder if others see things the way I see them or am I still trapped in the wonderment of my youth. For example, as I drive off the freeway and enter Yucaipa at the base of the Boulevard I see the freeway walls with their abstract designs. I know that most cities have designs that reflect their city's history or strength: Mission bells, orange trees, rolling hills, etc. When I first saw ours, I saw a tribute to Yucaipa's Air Force back in the days when we had a plethora of chicken farms: the common fly. To me, the design looks like the fly after being struck by a fly swatter. I've been told that it represents a traditional design from a history long ago. I still see smashed fly. I'm not complaining. I like it. It makes me smile. But it's a smashed fly. We have a great Greek restaurant on the Boulevard. It is called "The Fat Greek." Have you ever seen its sign at night? Sometimes it is just lit by an outline of purple neon light. Look at the shape of the light. I don't know about you, but I see the head of Stewie, the annoying but brilliant infant, from the TV show The Family Guy. It's not a bad thing. It won't stop me from picking up their falafel salad. It's just what I see. So has anyone else seen the beige-colored house in Yucaipa? I see a lot of beige houses in Yucaipa. When did communities start doing that? When I was a kid, you would paint your house any color you wanted. It was much easier to find your way home. You could tell people that you lived in the green house with the big tree in front. Or let people know that yours was the yellow house with the white picket fence. I don't advocate doing some strange color that will antagonize your neighbors, but I don't think breaking away from the beige patterns throughout town would be a bad thing. After all, the series of homes known as the Painted Ladies in San Francisco have become a national treasure. Another thing I see in town is the mess of traffic congestion every morning and afternoon at the high school. My kids drove in that several years ago. It still looks frightening. Does anyone else see that? Or is it just me? It makes me wonder why we let our youngest and least experienced drivers face what looks to me as the worst driving conditions our city has. But no matter how I see things in this town, I am grateful for it. I've seen wonderful children come through and become contributing members of the world. I've seen residential and commercial properties come in and still respect nature by planting and maintaining trees and landscape. I see people who can work and laugh together to keep our town moving ahead. I hope you see some of the same things I do. Keep your eyes on the road. Does else anyone see the giant smashed fly? Just me?

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