Chicken Flight

Messing with my students’ heads, keeping it real or whatever it is you’d call what I do, I asked classes the following question:

Which of the 5 senses is the greatest threat/enemy to the illusion of time?

The answer, of course, is smell.

It hit me when I was walking down Bravo Murillo one night and listening to Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s Slaughterhouse 5 on the Ipod. In the (audio) book, the author seems to milk the metaphor of memory as time travel enough to warrant the category of science fiction. To be fair, he does throw in some flying saucers and aliens, though sparsely. Vonnegut, like Frank McCourt and many other writers, puts a high premimum on personal experience —on memory —as fodder for fiction. It’s a good way to steer clear of the great common mound of cliché and rehash, if nothing else.

And there is a time travel element to remembering, to be sure. So it was kind of ironic that it hit me while I was mentally traveling along that particular narrative. My feet, meanwhile, were carrying me toward a Kentucky Fried Chicken, which had won out amid several roughly equidistant competitors in a complex calculus of taste, price, healthiness (imagine the competition!) and portability (Metro eating, ideally).

The thing is, I’m walking and listening, minding my own business on a crowded Madrid street, when I must have caught a tiny whiff of that KFC chicken. Instantly, even before registering the smell, I was rocketed back to Shattuck and Virginia, in Berkeley, at the age of 8 or 9 –maybe even earlier –and to the KFC that used to be there. Though the space/time dimension of this teleportation was keen, overriding it was another feeling. Or rather a feelings mix. All in the same micro instant came a layering of feelings from several visits to that KFC, from many times and thus from no particular time.

The feelings were good, involving the food itself –the chicken and perhaps accompanying mashed potatoes, both of which I liked and like –along with feelings of satisfaction, safety, protection, being cared for and nurtured/nourished, needs superbly met, appetites optimally satisfied –all warmly cloistered in the comfortably nostalgic envelope that comes with remembering childhood haunts and stomping grounds.

Another curious illusion, along with the time specificity/vagueness problem, is that it was me feeling those feelings and smelling those same or similar chicken smells. As if the intervening 40 or so years meant nothing, didn’t really exist. That I was the same person now as then. As patent a lie as ever could be. On a par perhaps with dreaming of being someone else, or a shifting panoply of someone elses, all experienced in the 1st person –as oneself, though possibly doing things the waking self would never dream (so to speak) of doing.

It’s all hallucination anyway. You don’t really time travel. Scrutiny proves that the time you’ve visited never quite existed and the you who would visit could certainly never have been a part of it even had it happened. Surely the transportive feeling is vivid, as real-seeming as the delusions of the most out-there mental patient.

Science tells us that the “physical” nature of time is very much at odds with the human experience of it, warped and relative rather than straight and uniform. Experience shows that the human version of time has its share of internal irregularities as well.

23 thoughts on “Chicken Flight

  1. EFAltet says:

    Play at the Russian online Casino
    https://vk.cc/cMqVj1

  2. BasiliaGeort says:

    What makes us different?
    We’re results-driven, customize every strategy, and make your ads count with Google Ads and content marketing.
    Our clients trust us for consistent performance and honest reporting.
    Our SEO services are tailored to your niche and audience.
    Our strategies are built to scale with your business.
    Our campaigns are optimized for both search engines and users.
    We stay ahead of trends to keep your business competitive.

  3. etaletksgo says:

    sky is the limit essay malthus essay pay someone to write an essay essay t essay on crime scene investigation

  4. staletampr says:

    amoxicillin human for dogs arterium amoxil amoxicillin for bacterial infection amoxicillin himox 500 mg dosage amoxicillin treat std

  5. 3aplus63.ru says:

    дженерик сиалис 40мг с доставкой
    по Санкт-Петербургу и Москве доступные цены высокое качество производства Индии

  6. TRANourn says:

    Приветствую, уважаемые члены сообщества!

    Хочу рассказать личным замечаниями, связанным с бронированием машины на заказ. Недавно прилетел в метрополию и имел дело с вопросом: как оперативно найти надёжное сервис доставки?

    какие формы сервисы вы обычно оформляете такси? Через мобильные приложения или по связи? Есть ли среди вас те, кто предпочитает фиксированный тариф?

    Мне интересно: какие фирмы вы предлагаете для бронирования такси? Особенно значимо это для аэропорта — хочется миновать задержек с ожиданием перевозчика.

    Буду рад получить ваши мнения, реальные случаи. Возможно, кто-то встречался с мошенническими фирмами и готов сообщить других?

    Благодарю за любую информацию!
    https://flholod.ru/vodopad-dettifoss-islandiya/

  7. Stephenheigo says:

    Antipublic]net – Find what google can’t find
    Great in data leak: With over 20 billion collected passwords
    Super fast search speed: Allows easy and super fast search of any user or domain.
    Many options for buy, many discout. Just 2$ to experience all functions, Allows downloading clean data from your query.
    Referral refferal and earn: https://Antipublic.net/referral?code=REF4YIJHD8R

  8. JamesBricy says:

    ¡Saludos, maestros en apuestas !
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRuk1wy6nA0&list=PLX0Xt4gdc3aJG7y03Wh5Qf0JrapCEgMFH
    Mejores online casinos chilenos para jugar con confianza – п»їhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRuk1wy6nA0
    Casinos online best son reconocidos por su innovaciГіn y fiabilidad. Ofrecen juegos de alta calidad, bonos generosos y soporte constante. Ideales para jugadores exigentes.
    ¡Que disfrutes de triunfos memorables !

  9. Eugenewaivy says:

    Сопровождение услуги на Санкт-петербурге — Escort Piter https://escort-piter.com/

  10. MichaelDer says:

    Ремонт телефонов в Кирове. +79229564040 – Сервисный центр Мобиопт

  11. ytaletxqdg says:

    is provigil a cns stimulant can you smoke provigil better than provigil provigil jobs provigil how long in system

  12. EllenBug says:

    Maintaining a aricept is essential for overall well-being, helping you stay energized and balanced in daily life. By making informed choices, you can improve your physical and mental state while boosting long-term vitality. Whether you’re exploring new wellness strategies, adopting nutritious eating habits, or discovering the benefits of exotic superfoods, prioritizing health leads to a more fulfilling lifestyle. Stay informed with expert insights and evidence-based recommendations to make the best decisions for your body and mind.

  13. NickAstom says:

    Tender thanks you after sharing this!
    https://hentai0day.com

    It’s always interesting to espy many perspectives on this topic.
    I appreciate the attainment and charge spell out into this notify – it provides valuable insights and for all gives me something to ponder about.
    Looking insolent to more content like this!

  14. RonaldWibly says:

    On our website, we furnish up to date and the wealthiest IT solutions through despite your house] kodx.uk

  15. ctalettbym says:

    prednisone to treat acne prednisone for gout treatment buy prednisone without prescription prednisone with milk prednisone dosage pediatric

  16. JustinbochE says:

    ¡Hola, seguidores de los juegos de azar!
    Recuerda que algunas promociones tienen un tiempo limitado.
    Explora las mejores ofertas de 10 euros gratis sin depГіsito casino 2025 y descubre nuevas formas de entretenimiento. Aprovecha estas promociones exclusivas y juega sin preocuparte por tu bolsillo. Es el momento ideal para probar suerte en los juegos mГЎs populares.
    10 euros gratis en casino sin hacer ingreso – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvFWSMyjao4&list=PLX0Xt4gdc3aLv2xrbmSCzHqZw12bA17Br

    ¡Que tengas excelentes logros !

  17. Charlesved says:

    ¡Hola aficionados a las apuestas !
    En 25girosgratissindeposito.xyz encontrarás las mejores promociones para nuevos jugadores. Las tiradas gratuitas están disponibles sin condiciones complicadas. Empieza hoy con tu bono sin depósito.​
    Nada que perder, todo por ganar, empieza con 25 giros gratis sin depГіsito hoy mismo.
    ¡Que tengas magníficas oportunidades únicas !

Leave a Reply to Charlesved Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *