Skip to main content

smelly things

remember those scratch-and-sniff things? of course they still exist, but i haven't smelled one in a while. now all we have are those horrid cardboard car scents: those leaves of aesthetic tragedy. the one i'm thinking of has a strawberry scent. it might have been strawberry shortcake - that little red-headed girl with strawberries painted all over her ginormous hat, a hat ten times the size of her head. this reminds me of those markers you can buy that smell, too, often like berries of some sort. i can remember the blueberry ones the best.

which scents do you remember? 

when Jodi and i (and sometimes Justin, Dan, Kaia or some other participant) would take empty milk jugs and stealthily place them on Mark Vust's doorstep (our Resident Director), i would sometimes smell the rotting milk. it didn't smell good. i'll give you that. but it was certainly a powerful scent.

smelling things reminds me of how much i love life. like when i'm in a forest and the scent of fall is in the air. there is an excitement to reality that can be forgotten amongst the drab de-odourized or fake-smellified places we live in. hardly anyone bakes bread anymore. touch, sight and sound are senses I use all the time. i'm usually expecting taste when it occurs. scent, though - it's usually so unexpected. it wakes me up to the wonder of the world around me, dragging me out of introverted thoughts and thrusting my earthly body with all its perceptions into the yet-beautiful remnant of the Garden of Eden.
Labels:

Comments

kanadians in korea said…
i LOVE this blog! and i still bake bread! :)
9/29/2005 01:57:00 PM
Anonymous said…
I and the brown house as a collective would like to take credit for providing you with the majority of those nasty milk jugs which you used to torment vust.. it was a small part we played, but, we are proud...
Holly
9/29/2005 02:10:00 PM
Anonymous said…
."For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."2 Cor. 2:15 May we be the smell of life to all we meet.
"May my prayer be set before You like incense;" Psalm 141:2
May our worship be to God a sweet smell of praise.
9/30/2005 08:01:00 AM
Darcie Dow said…
Autumn is my favourite time of year for its smell. The leaves are gorgeous (especially in the Soo) but it's the smell that tells me when the seasons are changing. Thanks for this blog, Keith. And I'll do my best to bake some bread soon. will an apple pie do for this weekend though?
9/30/2005 04:32:00 PM
meredow said…
i'll have to agree with darcie about autumn smells - especially when i'm biking home through the fallen leaves, the crisp air enveloping me, and then there comes wafting through the air from a nearby house the homey smell of clothes coming warm out of the dryer!
10/02/2005 06:36:00 PM
Anonymous said…
I miss you friend. And I miss our milk walks...hope the apple pie was yummy! You're so spoiled...
10/03/2005 09:32:00 AM
Michelle said…
To echo Holly's sentiment, I think I drank a good majority of that milk. Both in the brown house and in the duplex. :)
10/03/2005 12:24:00 PM
Anonymous said…
inspiring
magnificent
familiar and yet surprising
drastic, dramatic
fun
pleasant:
scents and brothers alike.
10/04/2005 04:37:00 PM
Anonymous said…
Keith smells
10/05/2005 11:04:00 PM
Anonymous said…
I as the Mark Vust cleaned up your mess and didn't kill anyone...
6/26/2006 11:05:00 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bye-bye Bible

Perhaps we should all be Jedi Knights. Their principle of non-attachment, which is strikingly like the Buddha's attempt to rid himself of earthly desires, is very appealing. "We will have to find out the cause of sorrow and the way to escape from it. The desire for sensual enjoyment and clinging to earthly life is the cause of sorrow. If we can eradicate desire, all sorrows and pains will come to an end." This makes a lot of sense. Actually, it makes perfect sense. He is right. It can be scary admitting Buddha is right, because what if he's right about everything? Well, even in this case, perhaps he is only right insofar as what he says is true. Does that mean his route is the best path to take on the proverbial road to enlightenment? Right now it might appear that way. You see, I realized recently that I became very attached to something I owned. It's my Bible. Or, was my Bible. (Give me a moment to regain my composure...) I had my NIV study Bible for at least ...
14 comments
Read more

satan's shackles

One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.  (Job 1:6- 12) ...
3 comments
Read more