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You Smell!

The Source

You Smell! We would always get tickled when Grandma Orr would turn to Grandpa at the supper table and say, “You know, Ralph, you don’t smell very good.” Grandma was of German heritage and perhaps due to her linguistic background often confused adjectives and adverbs. She meant that when a strange odor invaded their farmhouse Grandpa often didn’t notice it. His mind automatically translated her comment to mean what he didn’t smell things well. The sense of smell is said to be the most powerful of our memory prods and we’ve all experienced the deja-vu-ish feeling when we suddenly catch of whiff of something from our past . . . mom’s dinner rolls, the aroma of violets that bring to mind the face of a favorite aunt, or the smell of freshly plowed earth to a expatriate of the farm. And of course the smells of a place can make even the most mundane experience a bit delightful. Who hasn’t passed the cigar shop in the mall or taken a stroll through an indoor market and simply stopped to sniff the wonderful fragrances that waft through the air free of charge? I recently stopped in at one of Jacksonville’s newest and coolest businesses, The Taylor Mercantile Exchange, right next to Muggsy’s. I was looking for a door wreath and although they were in short supply that day I was fascinated by the eclectic cornucopia of items for sale. . .teas and soups and lotions and balms plus exotic ketchups, sauces and salsas. When I opened the door the fragrance of the mixed organic offerings was nearly overwhelming. Since it was only the store clerk and myself I thought that perhaps I’d best buy something, so I picked up a bar of “Zum Bar Goat’s Milk Soap, Lavender Mint.” I was curious how they got the goat to make the soap and it smelled nothing like any goat I’d ever sniffed. When I put my bar onto the counter the clerk sniffed it and said, “Nice.” Sure, I’ll bet you say that to all the good-looking men buying soap. Side note: the advertising slogan for Zum Bar is, “Any more natural and I’d be naked.” Perhaps that’s what she was thinking about. I stuck the bar into my front shirt pocket and took for County Market. It was a beautiful fall day so I had my car’s windows down and even with the rush of air coming down North Main the smell was overpowering. I guess I forgot that the soap was in my pocket when I walked into the supermarket, and so I was a bit shocked when a lady at the deli counter said, “Gosh, you smell good.” Thinking she’d mistaken me for the Swiss Steak, I nodded and said thank you, then headed down the coffee aisle. You’ve got to be carrying a mighty powerful aroma with you if you can be noticed in the coffee aisle of County Market with the crushed coffee beans taking up every square inch of smelling space, but still a sweet lady stopped her cart and said, “Oh, that’s nice.” I checked my shoes and pants, both of which seemed rather ordinary, and then it hit me that I still had the soap in my pocket. Not only did the gal at the cash register comment on the scent coming out of my shirt, but the checker in the next lane over also commented that, “Boy, there’s something sweet in the air.” I was fast-coming the best-smelling man on Morton Avenue and secretly said of prayer of thanks that I’d not purchased “Zum Bar Barnyard” that morning. I don’t know that the road construction crews on Morton exactly stopped work as the Smell Man cruised home, but I’m sure that anyone waiting beside me at a stoplight thought that the Rose Bowl parade was coming down the street. I rolled up my windows as I turned down Lafayette Street and tears came to my eyes as the fragrance seemed to have inhabited my car seats. The Zum Bar bar is now on the little soap tray in my bathroom and I’m three rooms away, typing this while the aroma of that one little bar of soap seems to have inundated Sandusky Street and is now heading down Walnut. No doubt WLDS will soon be reporting that he patients at Passavant all smell like lavender mint and the guys practicing on the JHS football field have begun wondering what their teammates did at noon hour today. I can’t sniff the smoke of Swisher Sweets cigars without thinking of Dad and the aroma of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls immediately brings my mother’s face to mind. If I’m forever remembered because someone catches a whiff of lavender mint then I guess that’s not all bad. It may not be the most manly scent, but it’ll sure stop them in the aisles at County Market.