Welcome to Tuesday's Question! And congratulations to the new award recipients of the You Cheer Me Up Award winners underneath this post. What is difficult about using blogger is when you want to do three important posts at once. One covers another, so I'm going to leave Tuesday's Question first for the beginning of the day, and this afternoon I have a few special friends to thank with another award to post.
Moving on, I have a nostalgic Tuesday's Question today, but it should be a fun one.
What Sound, Smell, Song, Etc, Reminds You of A Happy Moment Or Person?
You know when you're driving along the road and hear a song on the radio that reminds you of someone or something that made you happy? Or when you smell a certain perfume or go to a particular place, it evokes a happy memory ?
For example, for me it's pipe smoke. The other day in the grocery store a man was smoking a pipe and it brought back images in my mind of the happy times I spent with my maternal grandfather, and even sub-conscious observations I made about him when I was a child.
Much of what we write about comes from life experiences, imagination, sub-conscious memory, and observation. For me, stories begin as pictures or visions or memories in my head, that many times evolve into something else- but in order to paint the picture or the memory for the reader, I use my senses and sub-conscious memories, etc. like pieces of a puzzle to make up the image, and it usually brings back memories I didn't even know I remembered- if that makes any sense.
I think writing helps us with so many things in our life, because it pushes us to examine our authenticity and forces us to ask questions- kind of like I'm doing to you today. :))
Anyway, I hope you have fun pulling up memories and as usual I can't wait to read them. What smell, sound, or memory, etc... have you had or experienced this week that may have reminded you of something or someone? Here is my happy memory brought on by a man in the grocery stores pipe smoke- From that experience I remembered this...
Pipe tobacco reminds me of my grandfather- the smell of smoke billowed from his mouth and hung in the air- before joining the rest of Fall's bouquet- when the breeze in the air smells as crisp as newly-washed sheets one a clothesline, sending fragrances on the wind, and through the drapes of an open window. These images blend and shout his name-like the seasons, people, and places he loved-- but the smell from his pipe was different- it soothed my soul like a cool drink of water on a hot summer Sunday - I remember locking my dirty knees inside my hands- secure the world was right... as my grandfathers pipe bowl snapped, cracked, and burned the tobacco inside. He knew where I was, although his eyes examined the pages of a book, reading the phrases of others from another world, in perhaps another time. I love the smell of pipe smoke.
Thank you for participating and reading, and I hope to see you next Tuesday, until then~ I can't wait to read and post your answers~ Have fun!
6 comments:
Great question Ann, but there are so many for me to pick from. Let's see...
One of the greatest smells for me is the smell of a freshly cut Christmas tree. It reminds me of my childhood. My parents never had a artificial tree until all of us kids were grown. It was always a freshly cut tree that us kids would pick to celebrate Christmas.
We lived on a farm and there was forest all around. Each year my dad would get the axe and off we'd go to find the tree us kids wanted. They never chose the tree it was always us kids. It made us feel very special to be allowed to make such and important decision. Sometimes we kids felt sorry for a tree that seemed unloved and we would chose that one instead of a beautiful tree. It still smelled wonderful, and we would lovingly decorate it to be as beautiful as possible.
My parents are gone now, but the smell of a fresh cut evergreen always reminds me of them and our Christmastime. It was a magical time of peace, family and the spirit of Christmas.
Fresh baked bread. My grandfather used to bake fresh bread and the smell would permeate everywhere. The only thing that came close was the smell of fresh homemade fudge my grandmother made.
Funny pipe smoke is one for me as well ..my Dad smoked a pipe..you always knew when he was around from the aroma of the tobbaco he smoked...I walked into a tobacconist store about a year ago and bought some of Dad's mixture just for nostagia sake..
Remember the song 'Turn Me Loose' by Loverboy? I joined a dart team the year that song was a hit. There were a lot of guys on the team who wanted to help teach me throw darts. They would stand behind me and guide my arm with little tidbits of advice. I never let on that I could play... it was too much fun! I was 18 at the time and every time I hear 'Turn Me Loose'... I am transported back in time :)
The smell of freshly baked (or baking) cookies. My grandma (who raised me) always had fresh cookies for whomever may happen to stop by.
The smell of Old Spice. It reminds me of climbing up into Grandpa's lap in the evening and snuggling my head on his chest just under his chin. We'd sing silly songs or we'd just talk about anything and everything from what he had done that day to what my dreams were. (I didn't become the first woman president like he thought I would though hehe) And, I was still sitting on his lap when I was in my 20s ;-) Some things are just too special to give up!
The smell of vanilla!! I made a lot of cookies with my Grandma, and the smell of vanilla reminds me of making chocolate chip cookies with her.
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