They say that smell is the most powerful sense for triggering memories. I think that's true. A certain cologne that my grandpa used to wear still trips this total sense of recognition in me, to the point where I'll catch myself looking around even though he's been gone for almost ten years now.
Most recently, it's the smell of boxes. I know, I know, boxes don't really smell. Except they do. That damp, cardboardy smell. And the way it makes me feel...have you ever heard the phrase "strikes terror in the heart of [small children, all people, women everywhere, etc. you get the idea.] That's how it feels to me.
I have all these boxes piled up on my screened in porch and every time I smell them, not see them, it totally makes my chest tighten and my stomach clench up. Talk about triggering memories. That cardboard smell accompanied every major stage of turmoil in my formative years. We moved...a lot. Not as much as some, I guess, like army brats, but more than others. And as my husband will tell you now, I am not good with change, particularly change that I cannot control. I used to blame that characteristic on having moved a lot in my childhood. Now, I think maybe I was just born that way, seeking stability. I'm more of an observer, probably a good thing for a writer, than one seeking actual adventure.
So that damp cardboard smell signals change to me, which in and of itself, I usually don't like. But that scent also brings back this odd sense of childish adventure and hope. For even as much as I didn't like moving, I always looked at it like, "Maybe this time..." Maybe this time, it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe this time, it'll be easier to make friends. Maybe this time, I'll be one of the popular kids in school. Maybe this time, there'll be a cute boy living next door. In truth, only one of those ever happened. The cute boy living next door, and he totally wasn't interested. But the possibility of all these things and imagining all the outcomes without knowing what was going to happen next was fun, in a scary sort of way.
Anyway, I'm curious to hear what scents have a powerful effect on you guys. Another one, most of you will be able to relate to this, cheap, stale beer. That is college to me. And whenever I smell it, I'm back in the basement of a particular fraternity house : )
I think the comments section might be working now, so comment away. If you don't see it right away, it just means I need to republish, but it will eventually show up : )
Talk to you tomorrow.
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4 comments:
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Whenever I smell wet dog, I think of Lizzy. Usually because she's the one generating said scent :)
I too love the smell of new school supplies. Particularly notebooks. Love the smell of notebooks! And I remember the smell of trapper keepers that fresh plasticky smell. I had one with a picture of a waterfall and then one with kittens. I don't think I ever used either of them the right way, I was just enthralled with the whole idea of this being a school supply : )
I'm so glad I'm not alone in my "I love school/office supplies" addiction. Trapper keepers and Chandler's assignment notebooks...that sums up Junior High for me, too. AND the smell of Hello Kitty erasers. Those were big at my school...they came in different scents and, of course, I had the chocolate one. In fact, I recently found them at local bookstore and bought - yep - a chocolate-scented one. It's right here at work with me now...and it brings me back to other smells every time I get a whiff of its fake cocoa scent (like "dittos" freshly run off the ditto-making thingy...not the official title, of course...but they came before copy machines and the ink was blue and we did all our classroom assignments on them. And chalk from the "blackboard"...I use quotes because in my school they were actually green. Go figure. The chalk was especially smelly after clapping two erasers together!).
Hmmm...what other smells trigger memories for me? Whenever I smell Velamints (I think they still make these mints), I'm back in my dad's '78 Volvo with the leather interior and film of cigarette smoke clinging to every surface...and tainting the air. And whenever I smell a strong peach scent...it reminds me of all the scented Strawberry Shortcake figurines I collected as a kid -- they all "lived" in one house, and when you opened the door to play with them, the scent that came out of there was wonderful. And for some reason, the peach-scented one was my favorite.
Well, I don't want to be a "blog hog," so I'll sign of now. Thanks, Stacey, for the fun post topic! It's not often I get to skip down memory lane : )
SG
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