I love sounds. They take me places. Tell me stories. And connect me with my surroundings. I never understood why people walk or jog through the park wearing earphones. I imagine they’re most likely listening to music to energize their physical exercise. But it seems they are also missing out on a world of stories being told all around them. If they were only listening for them. I can only hope, at the very least, they can hear the horn of the oncoming car when they cross the street.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. But venerable newsman and former radio journalist Dan Rather once said, a single word, the right word, is worth a thousand pictures. Writing for the ear produces an active, intellectual experience for the listener. Sounds and spoken words can feed the listener’s imagination and transport them to a different time or place. And the beauty of this experience, is that every listener will imagine a place a little different from the person sitting next to her.

For instance, if I were to speak of the “blue waters” of the Caribbean, each person hearing my voice would most likely see something different. Different shades of blue. Whitecaps on windswept waters. Or maybe some would see stillness, like blue ice. In a way, stories told for the ear, create customized story experiences. No story looks or sounds the same for each listener, making stories written and told for the ear, a truly personal experience.

Here’s one I wrote a few years back about the Edgewood History Club. What do you see as you listen?