Today I went to lunch with an old professor of mine. She took me to this Victorian coffee shop in Mishawaka. As you enter the shop, the shop has the feel of an old general store. The general store connotes homemade and fresh. This general store did not just connote homemade. It actually was. As I sat at the table with my professor, discussing this course, I used my own cranberry tart as an example. My professor then looked at her lemon bar, thought contemplatively for a minute, and then said, I bought this lemon bar because I love the color yellow. I just didn't realize it until now. The walls of my house are painted various shades of yellow. Yellow is my favorite color. I love bananas. I just love yellow things. When I probed her as to why, she promptly said "in a town like South Bend, it is nice to have something that is so light." She was referring to the overwhelming portion of the South Bend year when it is gray. Yellow things served as her own sun. The sun traditionally symbolizes both light, life, and heat. These elements also bring happiness. In the subculture of South Bend, the sun is a rare commodity. It is to be treasured. One stops what they are doing to bask in the happiness that the sun brings. For my music professor, eating something yellow, was like eating happiness. Consumed, it could only warm the spirit. For a marketer, my music professor reflects the American perpetuity of optimism. A creator of lemon bars would do well to launch during the late winter months, when people seek light in the midst of a longer winter and look forward to the happiness of spring.
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