The Firebox Morphs Again!

Sorry kids, but my obsession with fireboxes continues to be fed, so you will have to endure it some more.

But could it be a coincidence that barely 48 hours after I posted a picture and complained about the awful paint jobs done to our neighborhood fireboxes, that it was repainted yet again?

I appreciate the fact that someone cared enough to do this. I really do. Maybe they read my blog, maybe a supervisor actually came around and saw what horrible work had been done. It's a nice gesture. But I am still going to complain, because this isn't a thank-you note. It's not just the thought that counts.

I am not sure if this is an improvement from the way it was before. While it no longer sports the "not being able to stay in the lines" bad painting from before, gone are the trim details. Gone is the nice gold that was originally there. It still looks pretty crappy. Beyond that, the fire-engine red is rather alarming, and it needs another coat. You can still see the old olive color through the red.

Please - give it up. The damage is done. Someone who cares will fix it again when they get sick of having to put sunglasses on to look in that direction. You simply are not qualified to paint things so please stop trying. I really appreciate that you are trying to do something good. I do. But it's OK. Really. Please don't react to this post by, for example, painting it fuscia. If the painter is reading this, then I'm sorry for being so picky. There are much worse things in the world, sure. I just wish you hadn't painted it in the first place because it didn't need painting.

Also, another observation: apparently up in the swanky part of town, they are being spared from the services of the mystery painters. While driving back down Massachusetts Avenue in AU Park yesterday, N. noticed that the fireboxes are painted really nicely. Kind of like ours used to be. Here's a picture of one, unfortunately from a moving car, but you should be able to get the idea. Nice navy blue with carefully painted gold trim. It looks fantastic. Like ours used to.

Nice huh? I'm half expecting that now that the location of a great-looking firebox has been exposed, the paint gang will be dropping by soon...