So much purple

Purple is a nice color that looks great on many people, but I've never met a lady who rocked the purple like the love of my life. Prior to our first in-person encounter, when all I had were digital photos and webcam images, Betty shared with me her preference for violet. Don't know why, but all her experience performing on stage likely taught her to favor outfits with flair and pizazz. She had purchased a purple overcoat in late 2004 that appeared tailored bespoke just for her. The above photo (taken in Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park in March 2005) captures well my wifey's unique style, a look you see again for our first New Year's Eve together. Man, a purple coat over a red dress. Now that's hot stuff.

Maybe it made sense for her to date a guy with some purple in his background, starting with my rooting for the Los Angeles Lakers: the purple and gold (though I hate the purple road uniforms). For people who know where Monterey is located, and the fact I root for the San Francisco Giants and 49ers, my fandom for an L.A. team might seem a bit disingenuous and downright fraudulent. After all, there's no way I would ever root for the Raiders, Rams, Dodgers, or Angels. In terms of basketball, why not root for the Golden State Warriors (of Sleepy Floyd and Chris Mullen), one might ask. Even though we could watch Warrior games on KICU, we had just as much access to Laker games because in 1986, a new Monterey station called KCBA decided to fill up a significant chunk of programming time by simulcasting Los Angeles Lakers road games originally from their flagship off-air station KCAL in Southern California. So just like the fans in the Southland, I was treated to the play-by-play talents of the recently statue-fied Chick Hearn and his extant on-air partner Stu Lantz. Heck, we even received Lakers radio broadcasts on 1240 AM. So in addition to reading books by flashlight past my curfew, I spent many nights discreetly listening to Chick Hearn visualize every Laker with a signature phrase: from Magic "yo-yo'ing up and down the court"; or when Kareem would "swing left, shoot right" for his sky hook; or Worthy's "Slaaaaaaaam dunk!" or the game being "in the refridgerator."

Unlike Betty, I exercise much more prudence in wearing purple. My college roommates and parents didn't understand how I had the nerve to wear purple at all (not that I ever saw myself as an adventurous dresser), but maybe they were projecting the fact they couldn't pull off the look. As a result the outfit below garnered as many criticisms as it did compliments. In case you're wondering, I am not wearing a pink tie.

After over 10 years, I still own that purple dress shirt and put it to good use for a 4th anniversary dinner (January 2008) at the spectacular Yamashiro restaurant in Hollywood. Expensive, yes, but to paraphrase the renowned philosopher Cookie Monster, this is a "sometimes restaurant" with such a breathtaking panoramic view of Los Angeles that you wind up asking yourself, "Is sometimes NOW?" And for once, I look half as good as she does.

Now I'm enjoying a brief stint at Northwestern University (where purple is a way of life), though I haven't assimilated the color scheme beyond a keychain lanyard. Besides, Betty looks much better in NU purple than I ever would. That's why I bought an NU sweatshirt just for her. I gave it to her during my October 2009 visit, just a few days before our engagement ceremony. To my surprise she unveiled another purple look that day. Am I a lucky guy or what?

And just in case fellow Trojans reading this blog are wondering, yes, I have made sure she has plenty of cardinal and gold, including this very distinctive USC scarf, while I pretend to be Cookie Monster while wearing the priceless scarf she handmade for me. Fight on!