Smells in the wind

Experts tell us that the sense of smell triggers more memories then any of the other senses. I think they may be right but I would need to qualify that comment. It may trigger childhood memories that anyone would remember, but some smells would be only for your specific area of the world.

The smell of coal smoke and the musty smell of the Ohio River take me back to a cold October day in the early 70's. Sitting on a river bank throwing rocks in the water and watching barge boats push up stream against the current. The wind blew rustleing through the leaves that still clung to the trees.

The smell of a Bologna sandwich on white bread brings back a Batman lunch box with a matching thermos that held the best tasting chocolate milk. That thermos would keep it cold all day in its glass liner but if you dropped it you had chocolate glass brittle.

The smell of old apples in the fall. That sweet-sour smell of field apples going bad in the high grass as I explored through the woods with my dog Princy. He was my friend and I brought him along to fight off any imaginary bears that we came upon.

The minty smell of white paste and the aroma of crayons brings back a memory of the first day of 2nd grade. New pencils and the loud CRACK of a three ring binder. Floor polish. Does anything in the world smell like the shavings from a pencil sharpener?

Lysol. My mom standing by the kitchen sink drinking a Pepsi after scrubbing the floor with red Lysol. Her hair up in a bee hive hair-do.

Playdough. Playing by myself in my room with a paper can of Play dough. It had a metal lid that never sealed and you never got a second chance to play with it.

The smell of a cap gun. Playing army with a group of boys hiding behind the hedges and firing off long strips of red caps. Arguing for hours over who had "got" who and not really caring!

There must be thousands of smells that are stored in our brains. First girlfriends perfume, the smell of your first car interior, Grandpa's tobacco, and Grandma's soup. These are all kept safe in our memory and in our hearts.