I lost my sense of smell. This nasty little virus sweeping the world, killing millions, invaded my home in January 2022 despite vaccinations and other protective protocols. My symptoms were somewhere between mild and life-threatening. I rode it out, and in the end, I discovered I no longer possessed the powerful olfactory sense that has been my lifelong companion. My first-grade teacher is responsible for my ability to identify just about anything from smell. She figured if I would eventually …
Tag: Taste
“A Night Out at the Anosmia Restaurant” & Other Poems by Philip Raisor
A Night Out at the Anosmia[*] Restaurant I accepted the offer from the pale estuary of fingers pinched on two thin slices of jicama tapped lightly with lime and a weathered rim of sweet chili powder. “Gracias,” I said in my best Ricardo Montalbán lip-sink. Friday night at our favorite Mexican franchise. “Can you taste that at all?” she asked. I sucked and replied that even where math was the official language, I was a zero. “Can you even smell it?” I …
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Feel the Deliciousness: The Purdys Braille Chocolate Box * Review by Kerry Kijewski
One adventure many blind people find themselves having at holiday gatherings is choosing a chocolate from an assorted chocolate box. Creamy, chewy, sweet or bitter – we all have our favourites, but those paper legends included in the box, they’re no good when you can’t see to read them. Enter the Purdys chocolates Braille Box… People who like to be surprised, (blind people included) maybe don’t mind so much. It’s those who like to know what to expect looking for …
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“Mindfulness” * A Poem of Breath * Holly Darragh-Hickey
I draw it in. One—even—breath. Deeper —past the habitual asphyxiation Burning at the base of my throat. It’s a draught to empty— Oh, to swallow deep forests and crisp, alpine air! It circulates, slackening musculature there— Opening up the body. That radiating breath! One chaining easily, from part to part— Alacrity to replace, to fill up every cell. It begins as a zephyr— Parting teeth at first, Fluid, over the coils of my windpipe, Riding the current into the pulse …
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“Dance of the Bird” & Other Poems by Maria A. Arana
Dance of the Bird hummingbird chirping on saggy bare tree branches busy body stop jump to leafy tree big bird shares tweeting bright songs and blinding sun leaves my teeth clench… my teeth clench like a wrench tightening bolts to prevent from dislodging and breaking but teeth like mine become brittle like cracker crumbs over the table I hear the pop… I taste the pop of your bombs they come down like rain I feel the beep of …
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“Psychedelic Hazelnut Cupcakes” & Other Poems by Clarice Hare
Psychedelic Hazelnut Cupcakes An unassuming cupcake! Other cupcakes would call it a scrumptious masterpiece. But this one is just a cupcake! The aroma coming from the cupcake is like the high- ground tobacco grasses that blend with our harmonious autumn lands. It is sweet and sour. Almondy. Cranberry-tinged. Sweet, but savory, and just a little bit juicy. Honey, almond, and cinnamon. Vanilla. Just the right amount of spices in the flavor. Honey, and chocolate. Apples, but I didn’t add any …
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“Of Man’s First Disobedience” * Taste & Smell in John Milton’s Paradise Lost
The opening lines of Paradise Lost (1667) by John Milton are perhaps some of the most recognizable in all of western literature, and they begin with taste—the oh-so-delicious taste of good and evil that will get humans kicked out of Eden forever: Of Man’s first disobedience, and the fruitOf that forbidden tree whose mortal tasteBrought death into the World, and all our woe,With loss of Eden, till one greater ManRestore us, and regain the blissful seat,Sing, Heavenly Muse,… A quick …
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“Jack’s and Steamers, a Neighborhood Restaurant Giving People with Disabilities the chance They Deserve” by Samantha Meddaugh
Have you ever walked into a restaurant and immediately felt welcomed and right at home? For me, Jack’s and Steamers in Arvada, Colorado is exactly that. When I walk in after being gone for over three years, the aromas of coffee and home-style cooking happily lead me by the nose, bringing back memories of when I worked there as a blind baker from 2014-2016. It’s a bright blue day outside, or so I’m told, when I return to Jack’s Bar …
Nose Dive by Catherine Haley Epstein * Book Review
Nose Dive: A book for the curious seeking creative potential through their noses (2019) by Catherine Haley Epstein is an adventure for your nose in art, anthropology, and science. You will be amazed at how much you didn’t know about this oft-neglected sense. Epstein is an artist, award-winning writer, designer and curator. She wrote a great review of Milan’s Esxence for us earlier this year, and I was delighted to receive her book available for purchase HERE! As Epstein explains …
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A Blind Baker’s Perspective * Samantha Meddaugh * Interview Plus Holiday Recipe!
As a former professional baker, Samantha Meddaugh decided to have a talk with herself about why she chose baking as a career. She had a self-to-self interview about her experiences and challenges being blind and a baker, as well as misconceptions about being disabled. She spoke to herself in her home kitchen, which features stainless steel appliances, white-with-grey-squiggles granite countertops, and all-white cupboards, with a wooden butcher’s block table in the middle. Interviewer Samantha Meddaugh: How did you get into …
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