Sound and Smell of Memory
 I'm standing at the stove, glasses fogged from the steam rising off the apple cider. I move the wooden spoon in lazy circles, feeling more than seeing whole cloves, the rolls of cinnamon sticks, and bashed nutmeg bobbing and rattling in the pot.
The cider doesn't really need tending, but its tart-sweet scent draws me in, keeps my face pressed into its precious humidity. I smile, remembering the first time Kyle helped me make cider for our annual winter  solstice party. We wrapped whole nutmegs in layers of paper towels and whacked them with the hammer I'd inherited from my grandfather. Kyle was barely big enough to wield it, but after a couple of double-fisted tries, he got the hang of it. Ted, who doesn't like to cook but loves to eat, wandered in to see what all the racket was about. Kyle gleefully told him that any cooking that involved hitting things with a hammer was great, and he should try it sometime. Ted suggested omelets. Of course.
This is how it is for me, the scent of cinnamon, the sound of nutmeg cracking under the hammer's thump, the caress of warm steam on my face, the connection to memory, to story, to everything.
Perhaps it's more powerful this time of year, when so many sights, sounds, and smells are repeated in our holiday rituals. It is impossible to smell pumpkin pie and not think of Thanksgiving; fresh cut pine and prickly needles are permanently attached to trees decorated with tinsel and lights.
As a writer, I treasure these sensations, the physical reality that helps bring my reader into the world of the story. It doesn't matter how short or long the story is, doesn't matter whether it's fiction or nonfiction, prose or poetry. Specific sensory detail  builds the world, affecting the story's mood, tone, message, and more.
As a human being, I treasure these sensations that connect me to my world, this physical reality that lets me enter the world of someone else's story from the safety of my own. Sensory details trigger tendrils of memory spiced with the promise of something new, something exotic, and entice me to follow them. Through them, I understand unfamiliar landscapes and new concepts. I investigate unusual solutions to tricky problems. I discover things I would never discover in my own simmering pot of mulled cider.
I discover the future.
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'Til next time--
Judy
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Registration Deadline is almost here!
Anza Borrego Writing Retreat!
February 8-13, 2015
Borrego Springs, California
I create a safe space for you and your work; Anza-Borrego is the perfect landscape for a winter retreat.
Join me for an inspiring writers' retreat in warm and beautiful Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Group sessions, individual coaching and feedback with retreat leader Judy Fort Brenneman (that's me!), 2 guided field trips (including a sunset/starlight tour in this Dark Sky Community), Sunday kick-off with guest author Susan Zwinger, inexpensive lodging options--and plenty of time to write and explore.
Open to all levels and genres--"nature writing" encompasses everything from memoir to short stories, poetry, and interpretive programs.
Registration and more info:
REGISTRATION CLOSES JANUARY 11, 2015.
Don't miss this opportunity for a relaxing, fun, safe space for writing, sharing stories, and exploring.
A great gift for yourself or fellow writer!
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