All Things Raymond

I got into work and went through my daily routine, Check the online sales, pack the outgoing packages, update the buy and sale spreadsheet and then make my coffee and wait for the door bell to ring. The first few customers that came in happened to be regulars and they knew what to do, Go over to the booth and sell your stuff or walk around and look at all the inventory. I then watched two ladies get out of a car in the parking lot and leisurely stroll to the door so I let them in and asked them if they needed any assistance. Keep in mind I did this from a distance and when I walked closer I started to pick up this familiar aroma and I obviously tried to ignore it and help the customers but it was like I was battling with my mind to stay on track and not let my mind just run through the filing cabinet of smells that I have stored in my mind. To say the least, I lost. That smell registered and all of a sudden BAM “Aunt Angie”, this lady was wearing something that my Aunt wears… I know this may come off as an odd thing to write about but because of this I started thinking about how crazy it really is that our minds will go through thousands of stored memories and pick out one specific moment in time because of one simple aroma. Do you really think my mind would just go, ” Yep that smell reminds me of my aunt” and then move on… NOPE

I went back to my desk and continued to work and then my mind began to wander, What other smells do I know cause this same effect on me. One of them is actually quite frequent considering I live in a city where people smoke everywhere you turn, the smell of Marlboro Reds bring up the distinct smell of driving down the hill to work with my Dad. He owned a masonry business and at some point or another all of us boys worked with him. Working with dad was always fine and dandy but the part we all secretly dreaded was driving around town with him at 4AM to check on Jobs. When I get a whiff of those particular cigarettes It is almost like I am sitting in the front seat of that silver dodge again; There is a slight smell of coffee and the windows are up and sealed tight with the heater on full blast. It would be no more than 5 minutes and I could hear the sound of that pack smacking up against his hand to pack the tobacco down and then the flick of the lighter. This is when you would attempt to plan out an escape in your mind. Some of the scenarios I would play out in my mind went like this…  I know there is a gas station about 2 miles up the road before we hit the highway, maybe I can tell him I have to use the bathroom and when I get out I will leave the door open so the Cheech and Chong plume of smoke can escape… The list goes on and on. All of this memory overload complements of the Marlboro man sitting at a slot machine.

This is amazing to me that both large and small events in your life can snap right back to you by one simple scent. Another for instance that happened a few months back was when Becky and I went to go look around at the local thrift store just to see what kind of garbage they have. As soon as that door opened and the breeze was drawn out the door WHAM… Every Memory I had of my Uncle flooded my mind… It was like a slide show in my mind, I could see myself walking up the stairs to his apartment on Judah street and knocking on the door just to hear him yell, “Heyyyyy Hold on Damnit, I need to put my pants on.” I can’t help but laugh just thinking about it right now. That one smell drew up many many memories from being at the apartment to riding bikes around town to riding the city transit bus with him.

The shocking thing to me is just how vivid a memory can be when plucked out of your memory banks by smell. I know I am not the only one that associates smells with some of the most important memories in your life. Why don’t you take a minute and think about what smells affect you. The other thing is that you cannot control the memories that are brought to the surface but most of the time it is well worth the ride. So remember, next time this happens to you, just embrace it and when it comes to an end feel free to turn your thoughts inside out.

Raymond