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”You’ll never see two owls cuddling.”
We were at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center learning about birds of prey. A beleaguered mom had been pestered into asking if her daughter could pet the birds, and the kind presenter used this example to explain why they didn’t allow it. Owls might look all cuddly with those beautiful feathers, but it doesn’t mean they like to cuddle. There are five senses, by the way… but the one most associated with love is, of course, tactile. We cuddle, we hold hands, we kiss…um, etc. What about the other 4 senses, though? We always hear about how women like to talk while making love and poetry was created to be read aloud, not to oneself. Certainly food can be quite sensual (though I would argue it is the feel of the foods, not the taste, which is associated with romance) and of course we all know about oysters and chocolate. Though invisible, scent can have a powerful subconscious effect on attraction. Perfumers have preyed on this fact for ages and who can forget the movie, Scent of a Woman? Finally, the last sense, sight can be the most intimate of all. In one Pregnant in Heels episode a counselor made a couple stare into each other’s eyes without touching for a numer of minutes. Difficult to do? Incredibly. The couple laughed a lot at first. But after they had done the exercise they both admitted they felt more connected. Studies show that people have a preference for one sense over another. Some of us are auditory (hearing) while others are visual. So it makes me wonder, what happens when a physical person ends up with a non-physical person? I would guess a lot of confusion… a lot of tension… a lot of conflict. Sounds like the makings of a great story, doesn’t it?
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“What if the crystal ball showed Dad getting a job at the American Girl Store? That would be awesome.”
My daughter was looking into a glass sphere and forming her own dreams about a perfect life (which not surprisingly included tons of free American Girl stuff). The air was already thick with dreams, but hers were so vivid I am sure they overwhelmed all the rest. Most of my overhears yesterday were in fact daydreams… “Why couldn’t we build new doors into the kitchen to make a little eating area outside?” “What if we carpeted part of the attic to make a hide-away like this?” “I would have my book club meet in the little cottage like our own little space.” This is the joy of the Street of Dreams. In it disbelief is suspended and we can pretend that we will someday be able to have a library…. or a waterfall… or even a mudroom. We can experience how the 1% live, and dream about perhaps joining their ranks. However I was there not only as a dreamer, but also as a writer…. And my brain was taking in the details that created these perfect environments. The heavy wood plank flooring that felt rough under my feet; the ocean sounds coming from the speakers in the garden, or the way the shiny grille blinded me for a moment when the sun hit it. I don’t tend to write characters that live as the 1%... but I do write dreamers who might pay attention to such details… long for these little things and in that longing show what my readers what is most important to them. Just as American Girl dolls are critical to my daughter at this stage in her life. |
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Deanne WilstedLink here to Betting Jessica on Amazon.com Archives
June 2020
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