Page 35 - Storytelling - Storylistening

VIII. Using Common Senses: Smell the Coffee and Wake Your Memory Ahhh, the smell of carefree adventure...
For this writer, it is the fresh green scent of willow saplings along the banks of the river near the farm where I grew up. After a long, hot day in the fields, I raced with fishing tackle and a can of worms to the riverbank, anxious to squeeze as many solitary moments as possible from the dwindling daylight.
My pulse surged with anticipation as I climbed the top of the levee where the aroma of willows rose to greet me from the other side. Scout knife in hand, I cut down a long, thin sapling for a fishing pole, stripped off the leathery bark and tied the line with hook and sinker to the narrow end of the branch, covering my fingers with sticky, green sap in the process.
Settling into a crevice of a boulder, I gazed at the point where the fishing line disappeared beneath the dark, churning water and contemplated the mysteries below the surface. Lulled by the sounds of my dog’s soft panting and waves lapping the rocks, I raised my sap-coated fingers to my nostrils and inhaled the fragrance that signaled my brief reprieve from work and the cares of the world.
Until now, the examples and exercises in this workbook relate mainly to our sense of sight. But smell, taste, touch and sound also are potent memory joggers, and often especially effective for those with cognitive impairments.
Vivid scenes from my own childhood are conjured up merely by thinking about the smell of willows. And on the rare occasions I visit the river, the actual aroma evokes strong emotion and a sense of homecoming.
Others are moved to reminisce and tell stories by listening to a vintage love song, smelling freshly baked cinnamon rolls, eating a stick of licorice or stroking a cat’s soft fur.
Think about the sounds of your childhood or your favorite holiday. What fragrances come to mind? What mental pictures are evoked?
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