No Itching Versus No Cantaloupe Is What It Comes Down To

I've been thinking today about if I had to lose one of the five senses, which would I choose?

I know right off the bat I wouldn't want to live without sight so mark that off first. I would lose way too much of my independence. Since Logan went blind, I'll periodically close my eyes and try to walk around the house to simulate what she goes through every day. I never make more than a couple of steps before I just have to peek. And that's before I know I'm about to come close to a wall or any furniture. It just wouldn't be fun at all.

Plus, there would be little reason to live if I could never read another book again. Not to mention watching sports on tv. I know, there are books on cd and play-by-play announcers. Not the same. The visual arrangement of sentences or whole paragraphs are sometimes just as entrancing as the words themselves. I like to hold the book in my hand and see the words on the page as much as I like to see the 6-4-3 double play and not have to hear about it. But I do think I could get by with listening to the news or to sitcoms. That's mostly inane dialogue anyway. But never having to look at another scroll across Headline News would almost be worth it.

The same with hearing. I would miss music way too much. Also, I get uncomfortable with complete silence. I like to work with background noise and I love to fall asleep to thunderstorms. Plus, I am the world's worst lip reader. I'm horrible at it. Nothing is more frustrating that to see somebody's lips move but to have no idea what they're trying to c0mmunicate. But, I could get by with closed captioning on tv. Still, gotta have my hearing.

Next, gotta have a functional nose. What started this whole exercise was the walk I had to my car last night after work. I could smell the rain as it fell from the sky even before felt it. I think falling rain is possibly my favorite smell in the world. Next is freshly cut grass closely followed by a wood-burning fire. Earlier this afternoon, I wondered out to my car for loose change for a coke and somebody in the neighborhood had their grill fired up. I contemplated following the wonderful aroma to its source and making new friends with the chef.

Taste would be weird to give up as well. There are a lot of foods that I love to eat but the taste gets rather bland after a while. And as much as I love to cook, the enjoyment greatly dissipates as soon as the food is put on a plate. Granted, a large part of cooking is fine-tuning to taste. But I wonder if I could compensate for lack of taste with heightened smell or touch. I also wonder if I would get the same enjoyment eating the same foods as I do now were I to lose that sense. Or, without tastes, would I eat the stuff that I know is healthy for me? Would I consume more broccoli and rice cakes and less beef and chocolate cake? Or would I just eat foods based on their texture alone? I think I'd still eat watermelon because I love the smell and the texture. But not cantaloupe. And I'd have no reason to salt either fruit.

Touch would be rather weird to live without. I think of when a limb goes numb and am able to poke and pinch it and feel a complete disconnect with it. Even the painful tingling is welcome. But a lifetime of no itching sounds kinda nice.

So, I think it comes down to taste or touch. But I'm glad I don't have to make that decision.