Sense Memories and All That

It's raining outside, which means I hear Clair de Lune. It's the smell of rain in the trees and on the dirt that reminds me of this song,  but only in the morning/afternoon. I had a habit of listening to classical music on my morning drive to high school. As it is Oregon and I grew up in Sandy, there was plenty of rain. Like clockwork Clair de Lune would come on every morning. It smells and sounds like my morning commute in my childhood. Even when surrounded by noise, screaming even (I live downtown), I still breathe a little easier when it rains because of this.

When I read The White Rose, I hear Chopin. In large part because the stage direction calls for his music specifically. It's my favorite play. I can't read or hear the lines from it without hearing them backed by ballade number 1 in g. Hearing it fills me with pride for something I was a part of and something that can transport me to another place so effortlessly.







Whenever I eat bread and drink coffee I feel like I'm reading The King-killer Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/content/books.asp
I spent hours at my favorite diner, Jam on Hawthorne, reading the first book. I ordered the same meal, Brian's Hash add spinach and avocado w/ rye toast and jam, and always a cup of bottomless coffee. I always have the same waitress/bartender, Patty.

Reading any work by Rothfuss, his blog included: I can taste coffee and bread and smell a fresh plate of eggs and hash-browns.







When I play the game-series Ratchet and Clank, I hear the album The Carnival by Wyclef Jean. Usually Yele more than anything. I listened to that CD almost exclusively while I grinded for sewer gems in game two and three. I can't not hear it whenever I boot it up and it's especially loud during any remotely underground scene.


When I listen to the Alabama Shakes I think about my father and Molly for their first album, Boys and Girls. Molly suggested them and Pop and I jammed to them. I think of Kindell whenever I hear their second album, Sound and Color, especially the title track. I got her the vinyl of it. It's my absolute favorite CD. It just barely edges out Justin Timberlake's 20/20 experience 1 and 2, and that's saying something, lemme tell ya.

Maybe that's where I should go with this post? Sound and Color? There are so many things that fill us or take from us but always remind us of this and that, that at one point or another, has rooted itself into who we are. Sometimes it's mild and small, like remembering the smell of breakfast. Sometimes it's big, like making you feel like your closest people are behind you when there's only you in the room. Sometimes it's bigger, like remembering terrible things when you hear a happy song. I remember being fired from my childhood dream job while hearing Express Yourself and dancing to it after a great week working at a summer camp.

Side: I was called into the admin office just as the song ended and was then fired. The person implicating me wasn't even strong enough to show up to the firing (may you rot in Hell). That's a whole other post filled with much needed catharsis. Hearing that song reminds me of how I was bullied in that job, how unfairly I was treated, and how I was flat out told that I was... how did she put it? Useless. But again, that's another post.

Sometimes the things we experience via sense memory were once devastating, like when you hear your song with your big ex. Winter by Joshua Radin for me. The second is usually I Remember You by Nat King Cole. It reminds me of good things from college.

Sometimes the things that should wreck you, instead make you smile. Hearing Have You Seen Her by the Chi-Lights was playing when my Dad had his first heart attack and had to go to the hospital in the morning light. When I hear it I'm reminded of how strong he is, and kind.

When I hear Let it Be by the Beatles, I think about my late-cousin, Will. He recorded his 10 year old self singing that and made a cassette of it. I found it and made it digital. It's got all the good feels.

Sometimes it's the tiny things that fill you with the greatest memories. For me it's usually food.

"Artisanal pizza" will always remind me of being in Auze France and Herrang Sweden. It will always make me think of my friends Mike and Emily Lenneville. We travelled and trained there together. Some of my favorites stories and most powerful memories are with those two.

Any kind of soup reminds me of my childhood home. I feel like that's the case for a lot of people. It's a comfort food, it's simple, and for me I feel safe when I eat it. It quiets my mind and I'm taken back to my parents home and the wonderful silence that surrounds you. It's reassuring.