This past Friday night I was returning from a hospital visit on the upper east side walking west towards the Lexington Avenue subway when I past a fruit vendor. A rather large street stand on a corner, it was accompanied by a refrigerated produce truck whose trailer door was open. There was a combination of COLD fruit and vegetable smells--not the same as a fresh farm market--the scent of refrigerated cold itself, perhaps refrigerant, and maybe even a little whiff of perspiration from the vendor himself. Continuing along, prompted my the overall aroma, my mind was instantly transported to the Bloomfield Sale Barn and Auction. (Old friends from back home will know of what I speak.) As a little kid on so many occasion while at the livestock auction my family would also walk through the market stands where Amish and English shopped alongside one another: by the meat counter, the cheese section, and the produce. Those were good times. That is a good memory. A reminder in an instant brought by a smell. Change is inevitable. On this day I hear how everything changed. Maybe. Im not entirely convinced. Perhaps we only became more aware...? Nevertheless, Im mindful that one can be transported in an instant, by a smell, a sight, a place, and even a day on the calendar. They can transport us to another time and place, to a significant joy, a lingering sorrow, a real trauma. Or sometimes to a great heaviness. On this day Im reminded; I feel that heaviness. But also of the variety of reminders that so many others carry... Might make all of us a little more aware, a little more patient, a little more kind.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 17:39:29 +0000
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