Memories

I was walking down the road last night. Beautiful, clear, quiet night, not unlike most the nights in this small town. The stars were out in the thousands and there was a slight breeze blowing that sent goose bumps up my arm. I am not sure if it was the coolness that the air brought or the fragrance that hung on it the caused the hairs on my arms to rise. It was a smell that brought back childhood memories. A smell that I would know anywhere. The smell of freshly plowed dirt, sap from the pine trees that lined the road, the smell of things growing, of oil and gas mixed in a way that can only be associated with a large piece of machinery. It was the unmistakable smell of a farm. A smell that I would always associate with my great-grandparents farm.

What is the one taste or smell that you will never forget? I have a whole list, as I am sure anyone would. The smell of Christmas dinner cooking, the smell of a pine tree, the taste of a good spice cake. Each one of these holds a special meaning to me. How is it that a certain fragrance on the wind or the taste of something familiar can transport us to another time, another place? It is an amazing thing the human mind; how it works in so many mysterious ways.