Happy Panic Productions

I got unexpectedly wistful when I happened to discover that eight colors were retired from Crayola crayons in 1990 (actually, renamed), and among them were three of my favorites: Green Blue, Orange Red, and Raw Umber. I suddenly remembered how my young mind had used the example of the Red Orange and Orange Red crayons to conclude that "pop", not "soda", was the proper shorthand for soda pop. I reasoned that Orange Red was more red than orange, and Red Orange was more orange than red; by analogy, soda pop was more pop than soda.

I also had a friend and neighbor named Umber, who incidentally was the first girl I ever kissed, under the table in first grade. I wouldn't describe the kiss as raw, though I suppose technically she was.