Ironically, it looks like my first post will deal with neither cats nor kale. I didn’t know about the “daily prompt” when I signed up, and I’m excited to be prompted daily to write (and write some more!).
Scent does transport – straight to nostalgia in many cases. Of course the smell of pumpkin pie reminds me of Thanksgivings in my grandma’s kitchen, and the smell of cut grass reminds me of summer vacations and “carefree times,” but one scent that truly lingers, and certainly transports, is the aroma of Pirates of the Caribbean.
No, not actual pirates, not movie theater popcorn at the midnight premiere(s) for the blockbusters, and not the glossy magazine cutout that I used to have of Johnny Depp all Jack Sparrowed up. The smell that transports me is the musty, underground, humid, low-grade explosives aroma from the Disneyland ride itself; this smell is truly recognizable and I have found it in the strangest places!
My freshman year of college I ate all of my meals at our University Center, and consequently spent much of my time in the building. One staircase on the right-hand side of the kitchen went from the common area down into the mail room. My first time walking down this staircase I was so struck by the POTC scent that I listened to the theme song for days following. Thinking it through, the placement makes sense: near a kitchen (POTC has the Blue Bayou Restaurant in the same building), heading downstairs/underground, an older building to provide the faint “must.” What always troubled me was the humidity factor and the explosive powder component – hopefully my mind only needed three components to translate.
I notice that my POTC aroma instantly makes me want to go to Disneyland. As a kid, this was where my family vacationed, so nostalgia is a huge factor. That ride is great, and our vacations were easily the best times (family-wise) in my childhood. And now, after writing this post, I only want to eat a Monte Cristo at the Bayou and watch the dog dangle the keys just out of the pirates’ reach…
katz n' kale 