If you close your eyes and think of a Folger's coffee commercial, you can almost smell that fresh brewed aroma wafting through your nose. That is the satisfying image the Folger's marketing staff wants you to enjoy.
And who doesn't love the smell of bacon in the morning, popcorn at the theater or fresh baked bread.
Some scents are not so pleasing... Garlic or onions, to some, is awful. Cigarette smoke is another.
Our brains have a wonderful way to allow certain scents to trigger a flood of memories that we had stored way back in the back of our heads.
When I was growing up there was always a pillow on the living room sofa. When my dad came home from the day's work, he'd give me mother a kiss and hand her the newspaper. She would then "stretch out" on the sofa and read the paper while dinner simmered on the stove and dad changed out of his work clothes.
From time to time, especially if I didn't feel well, I'd lay on that sofa as well, with my head on that pillow. It had a scent -- my mother's scent. There was something about it. It made me feel warm and safe. Like the bond of the scent between a mother lion and her cub, my mother's scent let me know she was there.
My mother has been gone for several years, but from time to time, my nose catches her scent. Because the scent that I thought was hers alone, she bought in a bottle.
It's called Tabu.
My sister kept my mother's pillows after her death, just to have the scent of Mom. Good post, Bill. Thanks. WJ
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