Thinking back...

I am thinking way back. About 48 years ago or so. I was thinking of the cold winter days in my childhood. I remember walking the five blocks to school. I was cold but I moved pretty fast, so I got to school fine. I now think of my mother, she walked me to school and then had to walk back home. I remember feeling the direction of the wind and figuring out if she would be walking back home with the wind or against it.

Our school was warm and cozy. I would go home for lunch. Most of the time I would eat chicken noodle soup and a sandwich of lunchmeat. That was at the time my favorite lunch.

Our house was heated with oil. We had a hut in the back yard which enclosed two huge tanks which would be filled with the oil. In the start of winter my grandfather would have the oil delivered and pumped into the tanks. Depending on how cold the winter was, this had to be done a few times during the heating season. I would enjoy watching the driver unreel this long hose from his truck and insert the spout into the tanks one at a time. He would talk to me while this was getting done. I don't recall what we talked about. Just stuff I guess. I recall likeing the smell of his truck. The fuel was diesel and it had a unique smell, I have always related the smell of diesel fuel with warmth. I never gave it much thought till now, but it stands to reason I would associate that smell with warmth since the truck which delivered the oil which kept us warm ran on diesel fuel.

There are other scents which make me think of certain things or events in my life. I guess this is not unique to me. What is unique is the fact that a scent which brings something to mind for me may not have the same memory for someone else. That is just one example of how cool life can be if we take the time to stop and smell the roses...