Olfaction

Great Salt Lake - the warm wind wafts over the lake in the spring and summer and makes me think of the ocean. Undoubtedly the salt. "Lake stink". I have to admit it makes me meloncholy for Carmel Meadows.

Some families have a smell. On more than one occasion we've identified an errant article of clothing left in the house by smelling it and determining its master. Just like dogs do. We're cool like dogs.

I was so in love with a boy when I was 14 that to this day the fragrance of the laundry detergent that his mother used at the time still reminds me of him.

There is no theory that explains olfactory perception completely. In other words, no one is completely sure how we smell. But a common thought is that our olfactory neurons are each set up to sense a certain molecule and when that airborne molecule fits that particular nerve, we detect it. So, does that mean we are pre-determined smellers? Yes - that's why humans smell fewer things than other mammals. We have fewer olfactory possibilities. Smell is our most potent sense since the neurons are hardwired straight into the brain - there isn't a translating organ as in our other senses. Scent=pure reaction. The limbic system in the brain is where we sense odors, and it's also the area that stores memory and controls emotion. Everything all bunched up together is probably why aroma triggers strong memory and emotion.

My mother-in-law doesn't have a sense of smell. She thought it would be something she would eventually learn to do. She never did. Sometimes dangerous - can't smell smoke. Sometimes great - can't smell poop. Sometimes sad - can't smell pine. And sometimes really, really tragic - she can't tell the difference between some tastes for example. The ones that have a lot to do with smell - pinenuts vs. hazelnuts, root beer vs. dr pepper, pesto vs. garlic, etc. Rich can't smell well either, but his is due to injury, not birth defect. When he does smell something it's very exciting. To me. I should clarify - exciting to me. Not really to him. He's fairly indifferent.

Puke stench stays around. Strong that is.

Nutmeg is for fall and cinnamon is for winter. Lavender is for spring and cotton is for summer. I can remember how my grandma's lotion smelled. And baking bread still reminds me of the bakery near Weisserstein. Brotchen.

Coffee. This one is loaded. The very first whiff of coffee smells like an airplane, and I feel the rush of traveling somewhere. This must be from my childhood. But then I go on an olfactory ride through my grandparents house in Logan and then to Peter's house in Marina, and usually I land there. Cause it's so pleasant - I just stay.

Fish - odd. I don't like fish to eat. But the smell of fish delights me. Usually. When it's the fresh smell - and the stronger the better. San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf - LOVE IT. (I don't however like the smell of tuna fish in the bowl left in the bedroom - not a smell I associate with anything having to do with anything else having to do with the bedroom.)

Pheramones. Very important. Very real. Clean smells. yes. definitely.

Rain. You can smell the dust as it is pushed out of the sky. Warm rain. Can't even begin....