Coupled Commas
Two together look like a complementary color yin-yang. What are they? They feel like, yes, they’re rubber, each with a contrasting color dot in the middle. A year ago we saw these little wonders in the Utilità, the utility store in Fiesole. We asked Roberta and Claudia, “What are these?”
The answer was simple, “Sono le virgole! They are commas!”
We continued our inquiry, “And what do they do?”
“Tengono le finestre aperte. They keep the windows open.”
Wedged in above the Hinge
“Okay, we’ll take 2.” We took our little treasures home and tried them out. We opened the window a little and wedged the comma into the space above the hinge. Then, scientifically, we watched and waited. Wow! They really work! We compared them to a window without commas. What a difference. The shutter banged against the window each time a mighty wind swooped through and then subsided. The two window frames clattered together or against the wall, gouging the plaster with the little metal bracket. Could something so clever and simple as little rubber commas really be the answer? Yes
We went back to the Utilità and bought 3 more pairs. We have blue in the living room, green in the guest room and a sweet terra-cotta color in our room. We bought a white pair, with a black dot in the middle. (The dot, we have discovered, is for gripping the comma to remove it from its place near the hinge.)
Evidence?
But, here’s an interesting thing that we have observed: spiders poop. We were completely unaware of this phenomena until we bought white commas. We boldly installed a pair of white commas in the upstairs window well that remains mostly undisturbed. Because our windows are recessed, they create sweet little corners for spiders to weave webs. Of course when an unsuspecting tidbit flies by, often the spider snags him as a tasty morsel. As Mr Spider munches away on his meal, he drops undesirable left overs below. And he poops.
Well, within 3 days Mr Spider had enjoyed several meals, as evidenced by the stains on the commas. Sure, they’re washable, but really. How rude!
But then again, how appropriate! How balanced! With the good, comes the bad. With joy, comes disappointment. Opposite and yet equal, complementary qualities. Seems there is a reason that they look like commas—they are colorful reminders of a philosophical truth. Silly us. We thought they were merely window stops!
July 31, 2010
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