I sat in the technology lab attempting to start my laptop. I was between classes, so it was very quiet aside from the gentle hum of the computers. Then, my laptop experienced a moment of confusion. It clicked and hummed and clicked some more, shutting down then turning itself back on as it cycled through the start-up procedure. I could feel myself growing frustration, but even more than that, I was starting to worry. This is, of course, my work laptop and I am the technology teacher. It sort of means that I should be able to handle this. I hit F2 on the startup. Nothing changed. I finally just shut it back off completely and took a deep breath.
And I sat.
In the quiet.
With a gentle, hum of the other computers.
I looked at the laptop.
And then...it replayed in my mind. All the sounds of the laptop attempting to startup. Suddenly, it hit me. It was not starting as normal. It was confused and trying to do something weird. It was trying to boot from the CD-ROM. But why? As I replayed the sounds in my head once more, I realized one of the sounds was the CD drive attempting to play a disc. It actually had a disc in it! I opened up the the drive and there was one of my COSMOS CDs in the drive. It has probably been in there for months. I had long forgotten it was in there and the case for my COSMOS set is at home. Surprise!
What led me to it was the amazing power of certain sounds. I followed the sounds and replayed them in my head. That helped me find the fix. Once I pulled the CD out of the drive and attempted again to restart the computer, it worked! All was well.
Music can transport me to other times and other places.
I know there are others like me.
Let the sounds take you on a journey. Maybe you'll find a solution in sound, too.
Sights and scents have a power of their own, but today it was the power of sound that made a huge impact n my day. What sounds make a difference in your world?
