One of the first warnings I have that I'm about to be smacked with a doozy of a headcold is that everything I eat tastes like onions. Everything. Pineapple=onions. Yogurt=onions. Onions=onions. It's a fascinatingly bizarre occurence. And it has been happening for about as long as I remember. Today I discovered a new tastebud warning in that Coke tastes like turkey. Have you sipped turkey before? Have you sipped a Coke expecting to taste turkey? These aren't experiences I would want to share with anyone.
I only mention it on my blog because the turkey drinking made me realize how easily I take for granted one of my five senses. And it also made me question the art/humor of God in designing a body that reacts to pathogens by warping expectations. What area of the brain is responsible for communicating and labeling taste expectations? That knowledge is housed somewhere. Before I bite an apple I can imagine what an apple should taste like. Before I drink a Coke, I know that it should not taste like turkey. But somehow, when my brain and body are busy fighting an infection, that knowledge gets pistol-whipped.
I always tell myself to treasure my senses. My sight, my hearing, touch, and smell. Taste gets left out sometimes because it seems almost unimportant. You can live and act within society without any manner of disability lacking a sense of taste. But on the occasions that my sinuses implode, I'm reminded of how grateful I am that 99% of the time, turkey tastes like turkey, and Coke tastes like Coke.
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