A walk in the fresh air and a brief encounter set me thinking about smells.
If we’re lucky, at some point in our lives we’ve been able to
experience the magical scent of a baby’s head. Think how mellow we’d all be if
a room freshener or candle could capture that.
On the opposite side of the scale, once in a while in the
grocery store I’ll push my cart past as a gentleman
walks, slowly adding Campbells soup to his cart of single items. Not really
unwashed, but clothes that have been worn a few too many times.
This is not to be confused with the “little old lady” smell,
with strong overlays of talcum powder; although the other day I did stroll
through an added layer of mothballs.
Another version of this is more
prevalent in Florida, where you can be momentarily stunned by a wall of
Shalimar pulsing from retiree in a bejeweled tee shirt. I suppose if you wear
the same perfume for forty-five years you probably fail to realize how much you’re
spritzing on after a while.
On a more contemporary note, here in
Massachusetts it’s not unusual to have a purple trail of cannabis waft from a
neighboring car window into your own, or to know what the off-hours habits are of
the person who used the ATM before you.
What prompted this review of the
olfactory world was a walk around our complex the other day. I prepared to
greet the woman approaching me, who I didn’t know; the routine here is a
generic smile and a generic comment about the weather as we pass each other. Except
I could smell her from four feet away. She must have been one of those lovers
of fabric softeners. I thanked my lucky stars I was outdoors and not in an elevator.
I lost my sense of smell a while back. I guess I don't miss it, much.
ReplyDeleteSometimes that can be a blessing.
DeleteYou have very good smell. I would smell very little of this,
ReplyDeleteI really dislike that marinated in scent/aftershave thing. And could be used as a sniffer dog on the marijuana front (it makes me feel sick).
ReplyDeleteSmells are incredibly evocative aren't they? For both good and ill.
Yes, I finally figured out why I'm so fond of lavender. I realized a few years ago that my grandfather must have used lavender-scented aftershave.
DeleteI used to try to hold my breath as I walked through the detergents/softeners aisle in the supermarket, the newer softeners have very strong scents, but that particular aisle also seems to get flooded when it rains and there is a mouldy odour coming from the under-shelf area, so now if I need any of those items, I'll cross the busy main road and go to the other, cleaner, supermarket.
ReplyDeleteIronic that the nasty smell is coming from an area of cleaning products.
DeleteMy smeller is damaged, but I can still smell all the industrial awfulness of detergents and softeners.
ReplyDeleteMy gripe (of which I seem to have a number ;0) ) is being out for a walk in the fresh air of our complex and getting hit by the smells from people's dryer vents.
Delete