The Rainbow Man-

The summer I took over the shop...1974...my then
family and I rented the first of many houses in Cape Cod.
I was full of ideas for how to make the shop my own...
And filled with fear of the responsibility I had just taken on.

During a leisurely walk through Provincetown,
we wandered down a side alley towards the water.
We came upon a man on a stool playing a concertina.
He had long curly hair and a gold front tooth.
He was really mellow.
Behind him was his shop;
glass fronted with a million crystals of all shapes and sizes
hanging in the windows catching the sun...
casting rainbows all over the white walls.

Inside was his artwork, all rainbow themed simple,
childlike paintings and prints...and his then wife:
The Rainbow Lady.
He was, of course, The Rainbow Man...
and this was their Rainbow Shop.

Looking back , it's easy to be cynical...
of course they were stoned
and still living the 60's life...
But what struck me that day was how good I felt being
in that shop and how that feeling stayed with me after we left.

That was what I wanted my shop to do...
Make people feel good and want to come back.
And, in the bargain, have a lovely place to spend my days
so my job would never feel like work.

I can't honestly say that Zuzus Petals never feels like work,
but more often than not, there is something lovely that happens
between the vasefuls of flowers, the plants, the stuff,
the dog and the people:
That lovely thing is joy.