exploring the senses

Image by pianomap via Flickr

Day One on the Writers’ Well retreat, and already I have my first assignment. Looks like attention will be given to daily assignments. I intend likewise to do so. 

Here’s the first entry…

Explore the sense of touch, return to your childhood and identify something you touched often as a child. Write 3 pages answering these questions: (1) describe its color, texture, smell; (2) what did it feel like; (3) was it pleasant or unpleasant to the touch,(4) how old was I when I touched it; (5) where was it located; (6) what were its surroundings; (7) who else is around me when I touch it.

 I wonder what might have happened, how my life might have been, had I followed mother’s educational instructions. As a child one distinct sensory memory I hold onto is when I was very young, between the ages of 6 and 23 years of age, the thing that occupied my free time was playing the piano.

The upright piano became the bane of my youthful existence.  Sitting distinctly in the living room of my mother’s home, against the south-facing wall sat the richly beautiful reddened mahogany upright monster. It was about 3 feet tall and there was a little gold clock that was fitted in the frame of a little horse drawn chariot, 4 horses I think, on top of the part of the piano where the gears were located. Every time the piano got tuned up, the little clock would have to rest elsewhere in the room. The key covering lid would remain closed most of the time to prevent dust and moisture from getting in and around the keys. Dust and moisture were the natural enemies of an upright piano. Until it was time for a lesson, that is.

More to follow