Of Camels, Rosemary, Endorphins And Adventure

Hi folks, welcome!

Every day is an opportunity for growth, but it is also an opportunity for the growth of my aortic aneurysm right now, so I’m side-lined until a fix is made. This provides a chance to reflect. I think some Tai chi lessons might be safe! So Deb and I went to the movies last night, where we experienced an entirely different culture, Saudi Arabia and the life of the women there; specifically a young girl wanting to ride a bike. Don’t miss it!

The scenes in this movie took me back to the therapeutic land of odorants (smells), which was enhanced by Deb’s latest habit of placing rosemary sprigs around the house – how to describe their wonderful aroma? Why did the movie evoke these smelly images for me? Well! In a previous life, about 20 years ago, I used to run a one-man course on the pathology of the nose. The combined lectures and practical session lasted for one day, and I could cope with 30 attendees, almost all being veterinary pathologists. One quarter of the day was allocated to the sense of smell. During round table discussions, I always passed out some odorant oils in little glass tubes (purchased in markets in France many years before that). I would ask the attendees to identify the odors! One was always a mystery to them, except for one arab woman who identified it immediately – Frankincense! How interesting that such a well-known commodity has almost disappeared from pride of place in our culture.

We tend to neglect odors in our modern, electronic, largely visual and auditory world, but odors play an important role in our lives, and can be extremely therapeutic. If you feel down because you can’t train due to injury, try some aromatherapy – it actually works.

The problem with story-telling on the screen or in a book is the near impossibility of effectively describing the smells that go with the story. The same goes for adventures. Reading about someone else’s adventures is not the same as having your own. In fact, if you do undertake exciting things you will appreciate the adventures of others even more – for instance, I’m sure that triathletes appreciate the remarkable achievements of cyclists in the Tour de France much more than does the average couch potato.

Come to think of it, I want to tell you about the adventures of my elder brother, Brian, if I can’t persuade him to write here himself, like his one man trip across the Gobi desert on two rented camels, Sophie and Blondie. I bet he enjoyed some great odors during that trip.

-k @FitOldDog