Senses

I was so tired last night that my post was a little lame. After the show, we spent the night at the state 4-H Center in Columbiana, Alabama.
It is a beautiful facility on the banks of the Coosa River. Even though it was a late night, we got up early and did a nature walk. We strolled by the Raptor Rehab Center and looked at the birds convalescing there.
The walk was refreshing and after breakfast, everyone who'd been at the private show that our friend Steve did, were saying their goodbyes.
One woman talked about her father and how John Denver's music touched his life. It seems her brother and father had a turbulent relationship. Her father was unflappable when confrontations arose between the boy and his dad.
The only way the younger man could wound her father was to insult the music of John Denver. Now her elderly father is frail and in assisted living, and her brother, who has matured through the years still beats himself up because of the words that passed between he and his father.
I was looking into our friend Steve's face as the woman told the story and I could tell it affected him deeply. "My only gauge of how the shows went was by the looks on the faces of the people in the audience," Steve said. "I never realized the emotional connection ran that deep."
I mentioned to those standing there about he book, The History of the Senses that I'm currently reading.  The book was recommended to me as a tool to help me improve my writing. What I've learned has been really interesting.
The senses play a crucial role in how we perceive the world. We process the events we encounter each day by the sights, smells, tastes, touch, and sounds of our daily lives. The smell of  patchouli,  or a rainbow cast by a mobile hanging in a window can transport us back to a specific moment in our past.
A song can send you back to a simpler time in your life and put a smile on your face.
Annie Denver who was married to John Denver for many years said this at his private memorial:
John was a complicated man who wrote simple songs. I didn't know John personally, but my friend Steve did, and he also spoke and John's memorial service, said that the description was a true and elegant description of his friend.
Last night was a gift that I will remember for a long time.