PPH
Not only did I enjoy delivering 75 copies of the Portland Press Herald each morning before heading to school, but I liked the smell. Believe it or not, but the aroma of the ink was a welcomed friend each morning. Whether it was in the cold of winter in the warm, corner laundromat or on the hot tar of the Esso station where the papers were stacked in summer, one of my first acts was grabbing a bunch and taking a good whiff. What my problem is I do not really know. I do remember being a big fan of smelling my breakfast cereal, whatever it was, each morning at the table. What do I love smelling these days? Well, all of the pleasant stuff that everyone enjoys but lots of strange stuff. Here are a few... brand new books, paperbacks or hardcovers, coffee before I measure it out each AM, any place I find leather clothing, in my closet or on a clothes rack, pillows, dusty curtains, shampoo at 5 AM, gasoline at the pump, freshly cut grass and even handfuls of dirt, any pine that I'm working with that has been cut, fresh laundry...
I could go on forever.
Really.
Maybe I need a support group.
I've even caught myself smelling the compost pile once.
Give me something new, and I'll take a good long draw.
Normal?
There is no support group for you.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm it.........;-)
How about the smell of baking bread or frying bacon? On the unpleasant side, I can't imagine a worse smell than wet wool when caught in a downpour. There are others equally unpleasant, but I'll spare you the details. Describing smells when writing is quite difficult but a few metaphors will help. Have a good Friday!
ReplyDeleteMaybe so Kate, but I'd take a whiff. hahahaha
DeleteI like all of the above, except gas at the pump and compost....
ReplyDeletePS. I really like your umbrella tree image today.
ReplyDeleteAh, you've got my nose working today. . . As for 'Normal?' -- I doubt it, but that's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteyou were an ink-sniffer before it because 'radical'. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd the ground after rain? and the sea shore with wet sand?and sheeps?and mimosa?.. Normal? yes! scents feed our memories as well as pictures !
ReplyDeleteSounds normal to me. I love the smell of coffee too, the odd thing is that I hate the taste and never drink it. But, I do love the way it smells.
ReplyDeleteWell, I think you may have some problems, but if you sniff around enough, you may find an answer. I delivered papers, too - the Hollywood Citizen-News in LA and then the LA Times. Always liked the smell of fresh newspapers...which was, I guess, the ink.
ReplyDeleteHerbs like rosemary!
ReplyDeleteDusty curtains?
ReplyDeleteYou lost me on pillows and dusty curtains (I think it's the hay fever) and I've broken the gas sniffing habit but I'm in if you start a support group. The newsprint and ink takes me back to the satisfaction of editing the high school paper and the smell of the printer's shop...and later, any printer. I also like the smell of a wood shop, fog on a cool night, freesias, fresh, hot coffee, tomatoes growing, basil, and cookies baking. Oh, I could go on...yes. I could use a support group, too.
ReplyDelete"Maybe I need a support group."
ReplyDeleteYou said it, Bird, I didn't.
I understand and concur with your 'smelling' list Birdman, with one exception , the dusty curtains.. but that could just be me being a woman :)
ReplyDeleteOn the unpleasant side of smells, it's the scent of roofing tar that revolts me.
ReplyDeleteOn the good smell side, how about the smell of the road tar on a hot day, by Warren Roads Co. on Bishop Street?
ReplyDelete