Stripped House

A house in our neighborhood has languished for some time in a state of disrepair. Now it has been stripped of its ugly aluminum siding, revealing the original wood and an incongruous pattern of black dashes. In a neighborhood where solid colors reign, it might as well be sporting Italian frescoes or Viennese majolica tiles. Stucco, vinyl siding, brick---these are the standards of American housing. Not long ago, I saw a photo of a Detroit house covered in large multicolored polka dots. In a city rife with half-abandoned neighborhoods, the polka dotted house symbolizes cheerful, art-based defiance. Perhaps we could use some of that in our own neighborhoods. I will miss the black dashes when they disappear.