An old friend from the past came to visit me a few days ago, and while we have known each other since we were two years old, a defining thing about her for me has always been the fact that she could not smell. It sounds odd, even to me, considering I have years of memories from which to mine goofy little anecdotes and stories, but sometimes the oddest things become the most prominent in memory.
At 13, a fall from a trailer into the street put her in a coma for three days. When she came to, she was perfectly normal with the exception of her sense of smell. It disappeared. She could taste just fine, but smelled nothing. No one believed her at first- her brothers would fart and wait for her to wince from the stench, one of her sisters and I would find the most foul smelling thing we could to test her nose. It was finally determined that she was telling the truth- she couldn't smell anymore.
Before her visit, we hadn't seen each other or spoken in 7 years. Distance, awkward stages of development and abrupt departures had severed our friendship completely. Through the wonders of the internet, we've been reunited. It was so great to catch up, to hear about the goings on of her life and her family, to share my little bubble of the world with her.
One thing was nagging me though- I just had to know if she ever got her sense of smell again. Turns out, it returned spontaneously a couple of years ago. What an odd thing to go over a decade without smelling a thing and then suddenly realizing, as she sat in her classroom at a local high school, that the aroma of chicken from the cafeteria was making her hungry.
Anyway, thinking about this made me realize how much I take my senses for granted, especially the ability to smell. I made a mental note to be more aware. On my early morning bike ride today, I smelled more things than I ever remember smelling before. One block was a myriad of scents- from fabric softener to garbage. Then, on my way home an hour later, it smelled completely different. The same street, only the time and temperature had changed. Hm. Things get more interesting when you pay attention.
There really is no point to this story, so if you were hoping for philosophical enlightenment, sorry. Like you'd come here for that anyway.