Sounds and Music

They say the sense of smell is tied the most to memory. This may be so in many instances, but when we speak of things like that we rule out, without meaning to, the power of the other senses. Sound. I think I probably give more weight to sound. In my head I don’t smell familiar things, but I can hear them. I can’t smell MeMa’s fried chicken, but I can hear her voice as she greets me coming up the walk.

I remember it from a movie. I’m not sure which movie, but I remember loving the idea. A man is describing the power of a song, of a melody, of a single note. Music. It has such great power. In the movie, Alexander the Great is mentioned. It is said that a simple melody could instantly prepare him for battle while only a matter of moments later another song could calm him to the point of weeping. When we are trying to find a song or a CD to listen to, we choose according to our emotions or moods at the time. Sometimes we choose in order to change our mood. We want something upbeat to cover up the aches of a bad conversation. On the flip side, we may choose something that helps to drive us deeper and closer to feel the aches that have begun, because sometimes that is the fastest cure.

Music and Memory. Every time I hear Eye of the Tiger I go back to Auburn, AL, to the field of Jordan-Hare Stadium. I stand there at the tunnel waving my shaker as the Tigers run past to take the field. Or I’m taken back to hours earlier strolling through a labyrinth of tents and grills on campus where the song blazes through the air from various tailgates. Song of the South by Alabama reminds me of high school. It’s blaring from the back of Luke’s K5-Blazer. I acquired the CD shortly after and can remember driving around Brentwood with Morgan singing it at the tops of our lungs because there was nothing better to do. Dave Matthews will always remind me of Ed, that night in his room freshman year and New Orleans. Toby Keith’s song about America will remind me of Michael and I singing the chorus over and over because we don’t know any other words. The sound of a Ukulele will remind me of living next to Dan the Dog that last semester and our crawfish boil extravaganza. Beverly Hills by Weezer will forever mark the So This Is America road trip with Tom. Damien Rice, Coldplay, Oasis and all depressed British guys with a musical instrument will remind me of Dan. Their songs alone are enough to bring tears of happy memories and sadness for a loss. Listening to Damien Rice actually inspired these thoughts. Dan dragged me to a small theatre in Nashville to hear him, this guy that no one had heard of and it was amazing. Forever songs or bands or just a genre will remind me of a specific someone or a group of friends I had. Not everyone will have a song linked to them, but those who do, they will most assuredly enter my mind within the first few measures, and that moment, that song has become so much sweeter to my ears…….and a small grin comes across my face.

Classroom AIM

Man, this really irks me. I am going to miss the newest wave/craze of classroom laziness in college. As wireless becomes more and more popular and more students continueing to turn toward laptops and universities providing free access, students will soon realize they can look like they are typing notes while really flirting with that special someone down on the front row with the screen name AUFrattyGuy. Yes, even most of the front row will be involved. There will be those few motivated individuals who really take good notes, but they can just e-mail them to the slacker next to them at the end of class before they leave. That student will then forward them to start the chain that will reach 80% of the class. Man, i can't believe i am going to miss out on that.

Sally Sells Sea Shells

Conch shells, turtle shells, oyster shells, mussel shells, hermit crab shells, etc. The list goes on and on. Being on an island, I see shells everywhere I go. They are used in decoration on nearly everything. You will see tourists loading their suitcases with them as cheap souvenirs for those they love back at home. There are necklaces and bracelets and anklets. Apart from those mentioned above, you might even see one or two when you go to the beach on any given day. We recognize shells. For the most part a person can look at a conch shell and know its a conch shell. The same applies to turtles, oysters, clams, etc. We have been trained to recognize these shapes and outward appearances. The recognition tells us what we are looking at. But it is not this recognition that makes them what they are. A conch shell is not a conch shell because it looks like one. A conch shell is a conch shell because a conch lived in it. We define a shell by what lives inside of it.

I was brought to this thought recently by thinking of a friend. Sometimes bodies get in the way. A body helps us to recognize who it is we are looking, but that body does not define the person. It's what's inside that defines who we are. It's what's inside that we love about people. It's their personality, their thoughts, their dreams, their character, the way they react in a moment that we will remember and cherish. A person's body can be broken while what we love about them remains intact.