Smelly stuff

"When nothing else subsists from the past, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered· the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls· bearing resiliently, on tiny and almost impalpable drops of their essence, the immense edifice of memory" -Marcel Proust "The Remembrance of Things Past"

Recently I've been somewhat preoccupied with smell and memory. Perhaps it's just one of those times in life, like spring time, when things are more fragrant. I wrote a poem the other day, posted on my lame myspace blog, along the same lines.

I never knew that the sensation of a smell that brings up a past memory is actually called a "Proustian Memory," which I find incredibly fascinating, but also a little dissapointed that it wasn't named a "Hackelian Memory." Alas, I'm not as talented.. and well, kinda late.

From searching online I've found a plethora of material relating to smell and memory. It seems that there are a lot of people besides me that are intrigued by it.

Just today I was walking up the back servant steps at work and someone sprayed Raid. It rememinded me of when I sprayed Raid in the cracks all around my ex's and my kitchen floor. During the hot summer, no AC, the ants would infest the kitchen. The sent of the Raid was one thing, but it was accentuated by the muggy heat of the apartment at the time. Also it was an old house, floor boards creaked, plaster fell off the walls periodically, not unlike the building I work in.

Just think about it.. the smell of your grandmother's house, your old car, your first cologne or perfume, your elementary school, the geraniums in your neighbor's yard ... what else?