of the travels of the Billy Goats Gruff
Here’s something that, if you read it in a book, or saw it in a movie, would be rejected as too unbelievable.
We now live some 200 miles from where my wife Carol grew up.
The other day she went into a local antique store and picked up this old book, thinking it looked familiar. When she opened the cover, she found her own signature from some 55+ years ago!
The intervening circumstances are a complete mystery! She bought the book for $1.60. Believe it or not!
Some of my strongest sensory memories are connected to my growing-up years.
Snow in the air before it falls.
Corn growing after the rain.
Leaves burning in the fall.
Honeysuckle in bloom.
Fresh-cut grass.
Some scents are permanently imprinted on our sensory memory. Some of my strongest are connected to my growing-up years on the farm.
Mown hay drying in the field.
Green walnut husks.
Cow manure.
Tomato vines.
Wet dog.
Freshly-tilled ground.
Rotting roadkill.
Our cellar’s ground floor.
Straw bales filling the barn.
Pond water.
But so many are also connected to people and events.
Old men’s cigars at the annual Family Reunion.
Wood smoke and canvas tents at Boy Scout camp.
First Grade “Teacher’s perfume.”
Crayons, Magic Markers and Play-Doh.
Charcoal grilling in the backyard.
Mimeographed worksheets.
The ointment for shingles on my five-year-old legs.
Pencil shavings.
Shoe polish.
Mercurochrome on my cuts and scratches.
Pine sawdust.
The springtime woods.
The childhood memories these assorted fragrances conjure are always welcome. What scents are some of your memory triggers?
