Essence

I was pilfering around on AJ's site this morning, hoping I would see that he has posted, which he hasn't, when I clicked on his profile, not sure if I had ever read it. Blogger puts random posts up below that and I started reading part of his "Deja Pew" post, where he talks about how scent is linked to memory. Which reminded me of Crypto encouraging me to post some of my fiction. Fiction about scent. But this is not fiction. This is actually something that happened to me one day. Okay, it is a bit fictionalized or rather... hard to explain. Nate and I are going out and about today, visiting The Clay Center, where we'll see "Dolphins" in the IMAX theater, "Mars" in their planetarium show, visit the museum, and do all sorts of neat things with the science center. Then we're visiting T-Bird's mom and after that having dinner with my parents and my dad's Seabee buddies. Its also my dad's 63rd birthday. Happy Birthday Daddy! Essence It happened as the stoplight changed from green to yellow, U2 singing about New Year’s Day, transporting me along the mythical lines of space and time, those of dreams, premonitions, and remembrances. I arrived in a vortex and noticed the smell. Our lives are inundated by scents - food, soap, laundry detergent, fabric softeners, perfumes, colognes, never one, but many, mixed in the right combination to form our essence. Some betray our profession, some our sins. Places hold this essence as well. Must, mold, mildew, candles, potpourri, dogs, cats, rats or just the essences of many humans who pass through. So it was as I arrived in the kitchen of the dormitory where I lived just a month. I could hear my music down the hallway, U2 singing about New Year’s Day. It smelled of medieval history and the essences of many. The peanut butter jar sat on the table, the sunlight cut the dust, and my feelings were still there. My stomach tightened, the essence of my angst and loneliness still lingering there. Even so, I wanted to stay, to experience those new and harsh feelings again, so I could be as strong now as I had been then. I could not hold onto it, my eyes focused forward, the light changed green, and U2 sang about New Year’s Day.