Today being soft and wet we decided to walk along the road.
First I was lost in the landscape.
Then as I watched Suzie I became aware that we were on two
very different walks . While mine was about the changing
landscape , the softness of the air , the bird song.
Suzie's was all about the scent.
This reminded me of a story in Oliver Sack's 'The Man who
mistook his wife for a hat. The story is called
" The dog beneath the skin " and concerns a young medical student
Stephen D, who after a night under the influence
of amphetamines and cocaine wakes to find he has a greatly enhanced
sense of smell. So much so that he recognises the patients on his
wards by their scent .In fact the sense of smell completely takes over
his attention and he is bombarded by all types of scent .
He finds it difficult to focus on anything else because everywhere
he turns there are scents drawing him in.
( Sacks would admit years later that Stephen D
was in fact Sacks himself. )
As I watched Suzie I wondered what my walk would be like
if we could swap perspectives for just one walk.
No comments:
Post a Comment