Making Sense of Sense Lesson 4-1

1. Lt. Gunn ambled into the Victorian cottage and gulped the overpowering, familiar bowel stench of a gut-shot. Flicking his handkerchief out and across his nose, Gunn picked his way across disarrayed, bloodied furniture to silence the scratchy sound of the needle resonating from the stereo.
Smell: gut-shot, stench, bowel
Sound: scratchy, resonating, flicking. silence
Sight: ambled, gulped, bloodied. Victorian, disarrayed

2. As I stared in the mirror, my giddy laughter mixed with the muffled sounds of voices and organ music wafting up the stairs. This is my wedding day. I ran my fingertips over the nubby crocheted detail on my cream lace-encrusted gown. Chill bumps sprung to life along my arms as I turned toward the door, my groom, and the rest of my life.
Touch: nubby. crocheted, chill bumps
Sound. giddy. muffled, organ, wafting
Sight cream, lace-encrusted

3. Bam! Thud! "Ow! He got me Wild Bill," croaked Sundance as warm blood oozed down his arm. He felt for his wound and screamed as his fingers hit the jagged bone sticking through his weathered skin. The irony smell of blood was sufficating.
Sound: bam, thud, ow, croaked, screamed
Touch: warm, jagged
Smell: irony

4.. The bell above the door jangled as Sue entered the old musty store, stubbing her toe on the last step and sending a throbbing pain up her leg. Intent on finding just the right fabric, she began to look through the stacks of blue material. She tickled the bottom of her palm on the bumpy chenille and liked the softness of the fluffy fleece. The satin was cool and smooth, but she finally decided on the brocade.
Touch: throbbing, sensation, tickled. bumpy softness. fluffy, cool, smooth
Sound: jangled
Sight: old, stubbing, blue. brocade
Smell: musty

5.. "Ouch!" I cried each time the scalding water I carried splashed on me. I was waddling in a humped-back stoop out to melt the ice in the guinea fowl's water bowl. More water sloshed on me than I had left for guineas. First, I tried to pry the cold, slick ice from the top. When that didn't work, I poured the hot water in and watched as steam wafted up. Slowly, the water began to melt though and around the ice. Bubbly frigid water made a sucking noise as it gurgled to the surface. The birds began screeching their frantic "buckwheat" call eyeing me with curiosity as I inhaled the dry, crisp air.
Touch: ouch, scalding, hot, sloshed , slick. steaming, cold, frigid
Sound: sucking, ouch, buckwheat, screeching, inhaled
Sight: wafted; bubbly, waddling, humped-back stoop, steam
Smell: dry

6. Nothing made Megan feel safer than awaking in the cocoon she made for herself in the huge down-covered bed. Rubbing her leg up and down the warm furry cotton sheets, she breathed in the vanilla aroma from her candles. Even the buzz-z-z of the alarm clock couldn't spoil this wonderful day because her hirsute soldier man would be with her before the fiery sun sank below the multi-hued horizon.
Touch: cocoon, warm, fury, cotton, hirsute
Sound: buzz-z-z
Sight: hirsute, soldier, fiery, multi-hued
Smell: vanilla, aroma.

7. The heady scent drifting from the kitchen could not be mistaken: Rick was taking a Triple Chocolate cake from the hot oven. Waddling toward the kitchen, the sweet aroma of warm chocolate lead me down the hallway. Laughing with pleasure I picked up the cool metal knife and cut an enormous piece. I closed my eyes and saw picture of angels and harps, and ethereal clouds dancing in my head as I savored the creamy, gooey, molten dark chocolate from the springy cake. M-m-m-m!
Sound: Laughing, M-m-m
Sight: Waddling, angels, harps, clouds
Feel: Cool, metal, creamy, gooey, molten, springy
Taste: dark chocolate
Smell: chocolate

8. The baying of wolves, trumpeting of elephants, growling of lions, and howling of coyotes reverberate around me as I make my bed upon the rocky, dusty ground of the African game reserve. Then, I remember the slithering snakes that might come calling. I won't even hear them before they attack. Maybe my campout wasn't such a good idea. I begin tossing all my supplies and bedroll helter-skelter back into the old broken-down truck and squeal out toward home.
Sound: baying, trumpeting, growling, howling, silent, slithering, squeal
Sight: haul, old, broken-down
Feel: rocky, dusty

9. As I walk down a filthy alley on New York's lower East Side, I try to categorize the disgusting smells. Putrid, pungent meat and rotting vegetables must be the main ingredients. That sickly sweet aroma of piss that makes me want to vomit. A cat meows and hisses as if my presence has ruined his evening. The clang of garbage cans lids occasionally interrupts my thoughts. I take out my inhaler and hit each nostril with a lemony squirt. I am freezing and miserable. Why did I choose this god-forsaken alley to meet my informant? Surely, there are more pleasant ones around. I inhale butane as I flick my Bic and light the long cancer stick. Ah-h-h. Winston tastes good like a cigarette should. A loud gunshot echoes through the alley as an agonizing, white-hot pain sears my chest.
Sound: meow, hisses, clang, flick, gunshot, loud, echoes
Sight: filthy, long
Smell: disgusting, putrid, pungent, rotting, sickly sweet, lemony, butane
Feel: freezing, miserable, inhale, agonizing, white-hot, sears
Taste: good