I had a similar encounter this weekend. I wasn’t surrounded by soldiers, and I didn’t have helicopters flying overhead, but my experience was equally satisfying as I stood with my hands on my hips and thought, “I love the smell of turpentine in the morning.”
No, I wasn’t sniffing it to get a high, although I probably could have if I’d tried. It is simply one of the familiar and friendly (to me) smells that I experience when I am doing some serious oil painting. Because I’ve lately been working with pen and ink or acrylics, which have water-based chemistries, I have not enjoyed the familiar fragrance of my trusty turpentine for awhile. Even though oil paints have eco-friendly companions – turpenoid, various mixing gels and safer alternatives – I still prefer some of the older and “smellier” mediums.
This got me thinking about other activities and related smells. I’m sure there are many parallels to my experience. Cabinetmakers or carpenters must have a sense of appreciation for the wood that they work with as they cut or plane a board, creating the sweet fragrance of cedar or pine. While working in the kitchen, a cook or chef will inevitably create multiple, tantalizing aromas. Outdoorsmen surely take pleasure in the seasonal scents associated with their gear or clothing, and the distinct smell of the ice shack or tent as each is opened up every year. The list goes on and on. Think about it. Smells that cannot, and must not, be separated from their source often become an integral part of the experience. Leatherwork, auto repair, a doctor’s office, the florist, grandma’s house, a swim meet, the local tavern. Even the pungent odors emanating from a boys’ high school locker room. All of these smells are important to make us feel alive, and aware, and to help us be able to appreciate the full impact of an activity.How amazing is this sense of smell that we’ve been given! How much less interesting would our lives be if we weren’t able to breathe in deeply, and even with our eyes shut, know where we are and what is going on around us? My dog’s intense sense of smell always amazes me, as he sniffs around our backyard and locates an underground mole tunnel or a half-inch, long-dead frog hidden among the river rock. None of us would ever want to be that nosy, but it illustrates how amazing the schnoz really is.
So, in the spirit of interactive blogativity (Thank you, Dana, for the term!), I invite and would like everyone reading this post to comment. Give us some examples of your favorite and/or most hated smells. Communicate to the world that you are paying attention!
