Grandpa's Nose or Common Scents

Our new neighbors (a household of six) use perfumed dryer sheets. I love these people but will I ever be able to open the windows again?

I blast good scents back at the corporate robot perfumes - freshly-baked loaves of pumpkin and sourdough bread; sauteed jalapenos, onions, and kale.

People are afraid of scent, especially food and body scent. I am a nose with legs, I love scent. Growing up I knew the smell of each pillow in the house and of the dog's breath and the cat's whiskers. I sniffed the gutter of my new textbooks, and the insides of my new shoes. My grandfather once asked me to sniff his shoes because, he claimed, they smelled sweet. They did! I got my nose from him - big and wide and fat. I cried when people said I had grandpa's nose. It was true, but I was young and didn't understand.

I love the smell of other people's cooking when I am walking my dog. I had a roommate who loved bus fumes and would chase after NYC buses. I love the smell of a newly lit cigarette, especially at the beach in the ocean air.

A brown paper bag with fresh rolls in it.
Onions and garlic
Beef stew
Shampoo
A cat's fur after it has sprawled in the sun, or next to the wood stove.
Freshly cut grass
A sun-warmed dock in salt water
Low tide
My moldy house
My dusty studio
A baby's head
A puppy's fur
Gasoline at the pump
The heat off a lamp after it has been on all day
The cedar of pencils

Ever since I was a child I have cherished the delightful aromas on my pillowcase. As a child I even named them! Washing the pillowcases saddens me - weekly is way too often.

Yesterday I smelled burning rubber while I was walking downtown. When I followed it I saw a huge open fire behind my friend's apartment building. Guys were sitting around the burning rubber tires, talking and drinking. I called the fire department. They even phoned me back to thank me.

Odors from my childhood:
My Masonite jigsaw puzzle (age 4)
My mother's turpentine-thinned oil paints
The smell of the couch, the Persian carpet, the marble floor of my childhood home
The green powdery stuff used to clean elementary school hallways
The smell of the dance studio, and the gymnastics mats