Fragrances, scents, and odors are powerful memory triggers for me. Research has shown the link between odor and memory.
Robert Benchley wrote in "Saturday's Smells" (The Benchley Roundup) about his new pipe tobacco that "smells like Saturday, and frequently puts me in a chronic holiday mood." When I smell the scent of the Russian olive blossoms in the spring, for example, I'm transported back to grade school and anticipating the beginning of the Lassie League season. Pair the Russian olive blossoms with the scent of a leather softball glove and you really have something. I smell the odor of unwashed feet and am repelled, but when the same odor comes from a container of feta cheese, I anticipate a great meal of pizza with garlic, spinach, and feta. I used to enjoy the smell of woodsmoke a lot, but after the Cerro Grande Fire, not so much.
And, of course, we have the body odors of people. One of our staffers (no longer with us) at the store exuded a gamy air of oily flatulence that no Febreze could subdue; a colleague at Los Alamos National Laboratory smelled like six quarts of whole milk left on the porch in the summer sun for three weeks.
What odors, scents, fragrances, aromas, and smells bring back memories both good and bad for you?
Requiem 1 - Cheryl
5 years ago
6 comments:
The smell of an elementary school classroom gives me terrifically warm memories.
I've only had the pleasure of reliving that scent memory a few times as an adult. Today's classrooms have white boards instead of chalkboards. I think that makes the difference.
I like the smell of russian olive blossoms,but because it means spring..nothing to do with lassie league which my sisters said they would quit if I joined..
I enjoy the memories of caring for five little babies, but I can certainly enjoy those memories without the fragrancxe of diapers!
In kindergarten I had a pair of red galoshes that had a fun, plasticky smell that I longed for for years. (Well, I still want to relive that smell.)
I don't really know why I had an attachment to those galoshes. Maybe in the first and second grades I longed for the simpler life of years past. They were kind of my Rosebud.
I love to sniff pine trees up close. It smells like home.
The smell of swamp willows reminds me of the stuff used to fumigate the Stockly's house for bedbuds. YUCK!
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