I never really knew what a universal and important color green was until I sat down and really began to think about it. The world would not be the same at all without the color green.

Just imagine walking outside on a warm summer day barefoot through a carpet of red grass or sitting under a tree covered with blue leaves.

What would the people in Ireland think, if each year on St. Patrick's Day everyone dyed their hair purple, wore purple shamrocks, kissed a purple blarney stone, and painted their pet horse purple while decorating the town up and down in purple? I don't think the Irish would be too happy about this.

What would the little cartoon-freaked kids think if all of a sudden one day when they turned on their T.V.'s, their beloved heroes the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were green no longer? What if the ever-popular green Kermit the Frog, Oscar the Grouch, Slimer and his slime, and the Incredible Hulk were all maroon?

I don't think Larry Legend or Shawn Kemp would be too thrilled if the Boston Celtics or Seattle SuperSonic changed their ever-associated color green jerseys to a contrasting color. The fans would definitely be upset.

The color green also decorates the surfaces of many foods such as green peppers, beans, peas, pistachio ice cream, celery, lettuce, and green M and M's.

I could never imagine going to the zoo to visit a pink frog, a turquoise turtle, an indigo alligator, a red lizard, a violet crocodile, or a silver snake. That would be awful.

Green is also the fourth color of the rainbow, the shade of moss growing over a river, smog, a Mountain Dew, Sprite, and Slice can, a Christmas color, chalkboard, Olympic ring, and of course the shade of a sick person or one green with envy.

So when Kermit the Frog said "it's not easy being green," he must not have ever sat back in his swampy pond to take the time to realize what a wonderful and important color green actually is.

By Lisa Weber