Yellowshift -- Creative Flash Nonfiction

A redshift occurs when a light source moves away from the observer. The wavelength of the light increases and appears more toward the red end of the spectrum. When the observer or the light source move toward each other, blueshift occurs.

Which brings us to yellowshift.

In Denver we have The Mercury Café. The atmosphere is dark, the food is acceptable, and the service is excellent. But what makes The Merc exceptional is the entertainment. Upstairs there’s music and dancing – the styles change evening to evening. It’s all live and local.

Downstairs is performance literature. One night a month is open mic night for Poetry. Another is open mic for Flash Fiction – scatologically referred to as “F Bomb.”

In March F Bomb Night fell on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day. I put on my favorite green shirt in honor of Ireland’s favorite saint, a bit of makeup, my Washington D.C. shoes, and I was ready to read.

“I bet you think that shirt is green,” my daughter greeted me as I got into the car.

Instantly, I knew it must not be.

My daughter has accused me of color blindness for some time now.

When we went to see the Dale Chihuly glass exhibit last November in Denver’s Botanic Gardens, she and her boyfriend entertained themselves by asking me “What color do you think this one is?” and 

“Is this blue to you?” or “Are these green?”

When something is a shade of teal or turquoise I seem to see it as more green than they do. Maybe more green than most people do.

So during my annual eye exam I mentioned my accused color blindness to my optometrist.

“Let’s check it out,” he says and brought out a book of photos – numbers formed by different colored circles mixed among other colored circles.

I passed with flying colors. (Pun intended.)

“You remember I told you you have cataracts?” he asked then quickly reassured me again that the cataracts are not bad enough to do anything about, yet. “When you see through cataracts, things look more yellow than they would normally. And what do you get when you mix blue and yellow?” he asks.

“Green!” I say. “Yellowshift.”

“You could say that,” he humors me. Then he tells me about a patient he had last month. She’d had cataract surgery so he asked her how she was doing. “She said ‘fine, but I had to repaint the kitchen.’ Repaint the kitchen?” he asked. “‘Yes,’ she says. ‘It was such an ugly color and I hadn’t realized until the cataracts were removed.’”

So I’m not color blind. What can I say? 

Shift happens.