Saturday, December 5, 2015

December 5: Writing Prompt #339-The Power of Touch

Textures are everywhere: The rough edges of a stone wall. The smooth innocence of a baby’s cheek. The sense of touch brings back memories for us. What texture is particularly evocative to you?
This is a particularly tough one for me to answer. I mean all kinds of things come to mind of senses that bring back strong memories and feelings, but they are not usually related to a texture although the sense of touch is indirectly involved.  Jon Gibson playing as I drive down any long, straight roadway immediately takes me back to my late teen/young adult days traveling back and forth to the Word of Truth church on a Sunday morning in Huntsville, AL.  Bare trees, crisp, cool air, and light blue, clear skies take me back to holidays and riding out to Sand Mountain or the other side of town where my extended family resided when I was a young girl.  The smell of incense burning takes me back to Kwaj and practicing yoga in my friend’s home OR to the infinity edge, covered outdoor yoga studio in Bali, Indonesia where my husband and I spent a week at a glorious escape the world retreat.  Humid air and salt spray takes me back to the Marshalls, stepping off of the island hopper, and days spent at the beach.  Colbie Caillat’s debut Coco album puts me back in my school age services classroom in the early mornings as I prepared for the children’s arrival for the before school program and later singing with the girls in my care, particularly to her song, “Bubbly.” Nora Jones “Come Away with Me” transports me to my husband’s Bachelor’s Quarter’s on Roi-Namur and a warm, bubbly, full-sized bathtub (I only had a stand-up shower in my own room at the time) during the many weekends I had the privilege of spending there with him before he moved to Kwajalein, our “new digs” and our ½ size tub shower.  So, wow, I guess, it wasn’t a terribly tough prompt to answer, but the sense of hearing and music in particular bring out the most evocative memories for me.  As I sit here and write, many more come to mind, but they are all connected to song for me, not texture. That said, is there a texture particularly evocative for you? If so, I’d love to hear about. Maybe it would evoke a texture memory for me too…

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