Sense Memories
"This stuff smells like summer," Sabrina tells me as I spray Bactine on one of her many mosquito bites.
She's right. Even in the dead of winter the sharp, antiseptic tang of the spray immediately brings to mind the feeling of playing outside on a warm, sunny day, each knee wrapped in its own protective covering of gauze. The smell of Noxema conjures a similar sensation in me, evoking memories of sunburns past as soon as I open the jar.
When I stop and think about it, there are a few smells, sounds, and tastes that can immediately call to mind the elisive feeling of a perfect summer day for me, no matter what time of year I experience them.
In addition to the medicinal smells of Bactine and Noxema, wood smoke sends a little tickle of memory through my mind whenever I happen upon it. Woodsmoke is my first camping vacation--no parents, no rules, just me and my friends hanging out in the woods. I wasn't a big camper as a kid, and I'm not one now either, but the smell of woodsmoke always makes me nostalgic for the freedom of that first campfire.
Whether it's at the height of a summer heatwave, or in the chilly autumn days before they move off to greener pastures, the screech of seagulls always stirs in me a strong desire to hit the beach. The heat of the sand. The roar of the waves. And the pure indugence of french fries soaked in ketchup and vinegar, eaten with a toothpick while watching the sun set over the lake.
Grape Crush is the drive-in. I haven't been to one in years, but that first sip sends me hurtling back in time to a nest in the back window of my parents' station wagon every time. The excitement of peering around my father's head to see Herbie, Benjy, and the Apple Dumpling Gang; fighting with my brother for control of the cooler and therefore the snacks; the struggle to stay awake long enough to discover the mysteries of the "grown up movie." All those feelings and more are wrapped up in the sweet grapey taste of that purple nectar.
These are the sensations that define for me the experience of "summer." The tastes, sounds, and smells that remind me of my childhood even as I create a whole new host of sense memories with my children. I wonder if years from now the taste of a banana popsicle will call to mind sweltering walks home from school or the scream of peacocks will return Sabrina to the park where she spent countless school fieldtrips and visits with Gramma and Grampa. I already know that she's got the smell of Bactine covered.
June 17 2007: This is now my official entry for the Pulsate Olympics. Keep your fingers crossed for me, because I really want that Creative Wanderings gift certificate; I've already picked out what I'd buy!
Comments
To me it's the smell after a summer rain shower. It has a distinct smell which seperates it from the smell of rain that falls during other times of the year. You also mentioned most of the other things that trigger "summer" for me, like fries and vineager and the sound of sea gulls.
Thanks for taking me back to my childhood!
Okay I know someone is going to find this weird but I will put it on anyway. My best memories were a few summers when I was a teenager spent racing at the speedway, the smells of avgas, burnt rubber, the sea (it was a town next to the ocean that I used to race in) oh and the smell of the sheepskin tannery (not nice) because we kept the car in a warehouse in the industrial area. That was where I met the "man of my dreams" and reminds me of some amazing summers. Hay is the only one from my childhood, I remember the smell from our farm. Now its lavender oil on all the cuts and scratches, bites and just to help the kids get to sleep during daylight savings
IM SO CONFUSED
I LOVE MY GUY AND WE HAVE BEEN TOGETHER
FOR 10 MONTHS AND JUST NOW HE TELLS ME HE DOESNT SEE US MOVING IN TOGETHER
AS A POSSITIVE BUT WANTS TO BE WITH ME..I MEAN WE GET ALONG AND HAVE SUCH A GOOD TIME TOGETHER AND CALL EACH OTHER AND CAN TALK ABOUT NOTHING FOR HOURS, THEN AT THE DROP OF A HAT HE SHOOTS DOWN THE IDEA OF US MOVING IN TOGETHER WITHOUT A CARE IN THE WORLD....WUT DO I DO??? MOVE ON OR KEEP THINGS AS IS
If you see him coming, turn around and run like a hungry bear is chasing you.
He sounds like he is keeping you on the back-burner, in case something else falls through. That is blunt, sorry, but it hurts worse later.
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