Senses

In this entire world, there is nothing more amazing to me as our five senses. We experience our earthy existence through this wonder of creation every day. Often, our awareness of just how much they are influencing us doesn’t resonate until long after an event or experience has transpired. So it was for me last Sunday.

In preparing to attend the Long Way Down viewing party in West Boylston, I went to the storage shed to look for a beach chair I intended to bring. My mind was preoccupied as my hand gripped the handle. Only slightly aware that the door was frozen, I gave a solid tug, and resisting at first, it yielded and slid open on its track. Washing over me like a thundering wave of the mighty surf, came the rush of air from within. I stood paralyzed as my olfactory senses kicked into high gear.

Hibernating within the confines of the shed, rests Jade, my beloved Yamaha vStar. Winterized and protected as she is against the elements, the smell of her leather, oil and lubricants was a powerful trigger setting off a flood of memories. Despite the cold, my skin felt warm with the recollection of summer days on the road, with the sun upon my back. I squinted, as if to shield my eyes from the bright sunlight the memory was evoking. I am transported instantly back in time, my palms and thighs reacting to the memory of Jade’s rumbling v-twin engine as we slipped along country roads.

Transfixed by my emotions, the reason for my mission here vanquished from my mind. I let my hand gently glide the length of Jade’s body, fender to fender, in one long, slow and tender moment. In this bittersweet interval, a pang of sorrow overwhelms me. Jade is beginning to show her age. We have traveled many miles together, and I am far from putting her out to pasture. Jade will need lots of loving care in the year ahead. I am thankful for this brief moment. With memories of the wind in my face, and the power that is Jade beneath me, she is forever young in my heart.