The Senses

I walked out of the Government Center today and downtown Minneapolis smelled like baked beans. Sometimes, it smells like steak. Sometimes, it smells like toast. Today, it was baked beans. I walked into the parking ramp, got into my car and popped an Altoid into my mouth. It was only 40 degrees outside and the cold seemed to make the taste of the mint stronger. I turned on the car and Annie Lennox's voice came on as well. I turned up the stereo and listened to her sing "Dark Road". I backed up, put the car in first and began to exit the parking ramp. Halfway down, I saw a woman standing by the trunk of her car. She was dressed in a black suit and was wearing incredibly high heels. She was incredibly put together. As I passed by, she took off the heels and put on the rattiest pair of brown flip flops I have ever seen. I left the ramp a few moments later and was aware of my back against the seat, my hands touching the cold, hard steering wheel. All of this took about five minutes...five minutes of intense awareness of my senses.