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September 05, 2005
The Life Aquatic or at Least Saline
As I walked through the doors of the Tennessee Aquarium's Ocean Journey building with the rest of the Weichbrodt clan, the air conditioner blasted a familiar scent towards me. No, not fish poop. Salt.
The ocean -- even from a distance -- was never a mono-sensory experience. The splashing, churning rumble or lazy, repetitive slapping would build in volume as you walked across the increasingly sandy grass, past a low lava rock wall, and finally sinking into the white billows of sand. The beach front cottage where we honeymooned was full of the ocean announcing its constant arrival and departure, covering car motors, children's voices, and wandering chickens in its foaming.
You could smell it, too. Kona winds, wafting warm and sticky from the southeast, brought the ocean's smell inland. The combination of a rising temperature and olfactory suggestion practically demanded that you retire to the beach immediately. Once there, your nose and eyes would sting with each wind, not harshly, but as a pungent reminder of where you were.
Of course, you could also taste it. Powdery salt grains gathered from your lips taste different than Morton's iodized salt or even the residue left behind by a french fry or potato chip. (Try not to spoil my euphoric paean by reminding me that the vast array of bacteria and decomposing sealife probably contribute to this unique flavor.)
I miss its constant presence. It's still strange to be in an elevated place -- in a skyscraper or on the mountain -- and not be able to glimpse some ocean in at least one direction. While a student at Covenant, there were many times when I would glance off the bluff, half expecting to see the blue ridges rippling towards me in even sets.
I grew up in Hawaii, and aquariums make me homesick.
Hawaii | By elissa | 08:03 PM
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