Leaving the hospital for the third-time in six-weeks my mother expressed her frustration with an unrelenting disorder ravaging her golden years.
Though with my mother even frustration, is a laughing matter!
Pushing her wheelchair passed an open stairwell in the lobby of Greenwich Hospital, “Mah” gazed into the well and expressed her preference for a faster ride to THE exit.
“Just thrown me down the steps!” Her brain likely telling her hands to point the step's way but these days, mom's wits are faster than her limbs, explaining her stillness.
Big Blue!
In 2001 Benjamin Moore adopted the color and branding in use today on the company’s fleet of trucks and trailers. The silhouette familiar at the loading docks and back doors of more than 7,000 independently-owned paint and hardware stores the fleet services.
THE truck’s omnipresence earning the fleet a nickname from dealers of the brand!
But before there was Big Red there was Big Blue!
Noted for their rich color and rainbows emblazoned the length on both sides, the trucks became known on the nation’s highways. Rolling billboards, they delivered tens of millions of impressions of the company’s brand.
And paint! To 4,000 (estimated) dealers nationwide.
The fleet’s omnipresence would lift THE blue trucks to iconic status; model truck maker Winross even releasing a hand-painted 1/64th scale model of the Benjamin Moore trucks during the 1970’s.
And for some reason, somebody didn’t want theirs!
My collection of paint artifacts is mostly made up of first-person heirlooms: the cans, price lists and other memorabilia of my family’s 112-years behind the counter.
Browsing online and brick and mortar retailers I’m occasionally able to identify an item which fits nicely into my collection. Like the truck, which already found a parking spot on my desk’s leading edge.
I’m partial to items which speak to my family’s history rather than just my own career as a dealer. An era which is otherwise well-represented.
Recently, my browsing yielded several rare finds. The limited demand for paint memorabilia allowing me to acquiring THE lot.
I’m looking forward to sharing another piece with you next week.
I’ll show you mine if you show me yours!
