No Purple Houses

There is no Home Owners Association in Port Tampa to tell us not to paint our houses purple, yet there are no purple houses. Imagine that, no rules yet no one running amok.

My personal favorite house color appears a few streets over from ours. This very intense peach would pass muster only in a HOA with architectural guidelines designed to evoke a Jimmy Buffet concert. A little tongue in cheek wink at a tropical vibe. Yet it works. Shaded all day by two immense oaks a more "tasteful" color would disappear in the perpetual twilight.

A brand new house on Swoope is painted turquoise. On a stucco home surrounded by large palms this color takes me back to Lucaya, where fifty cents and a sense of adventure yielded the best bus ride I've ever taken. Willingness to listen to the driver's running social and economic commentary caused the merciful lowering of the music volume. It is said Reggae music is so popular because the beat is the same as the human heart. I would guess this was discovered through the throbbing temples created by max volume in enclosed spaces. I like the gutsy move behind building a home on spec, then choosing an edgy color. (Off topic-another great bus ride is the circle route around Oahu. Pork hash dumplings, aka dim sum, at 7-11 are my favorite island junk food but you have to get out of Waikiki to get them.)

So, should you be traveling in Port Tampa and run across a Mediterranean Revival home with an orange front door give us a friendly wave. You don't know how close this house came to being pink. Very, very, pink.