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Jeff Dorris

Deliberations from Dorris

Jeff Dorris is the Editor of the Delta Dunklin Democrat

Editorial

Memory Smells

Saturday, September 29, 2018

This past weekend I attended a family reunion.

Relatives came back home from all over the country to laugh, eat, and visit.

One of the highlights of our reunions is the auction.

Everyone brings something to put in the auction and all the money raised is used to pay for next year’s reunion.

This year one of the items auctioned off was a mystery item in a small paper sack.

All we were told about the mystery item was that it was in memory of Grandma Davidson.

Lorene Davidson was the matriarch of our family.

A longtime resident of Kennett, she worked at Grabers Department Store for many years and raised eight children.

The bidding was fast and furious for this item.

Everyone loved Grandma Davidson.

The item sold for around fifty dollars and everyone watched in anticipation as the bag was opened.

My cousin reached into the bag to reveal the coveted item.

A jar of Vicks VapoRub.

There were big smiles and tears in everyone eyes as we remembered Grandma’s go to cure for all that ails.

That smell was synonymous with her and it flooded us all with memories of this sweet lady.

Certain smells can bring back memories in the same way that old pictures and music can.

I call them memory smells.

For many years there was a ziploc bag that contained a sleeper from one of my children when they were an infant. Many times I would the take the bag down from the closet shelf, open it and smell the baby powder and lotion smells that covered the tiny sleeper.

It brought back memories of when my children were young.

Many smells trigger memories of special people and times in my life.

Jergens lotion, Vitalis hair tonic, fresh baked cookies,and old comic books.

What wonderful memories these smells bring back.

The smell of sheets drying on an outside line reminds me of a dear neighbor from my youth.

Some other memory smells for me include freshly cut grass, Comet cleanser, and the smell of popcorn in a theater lobby.

All of these bring back memories of those that I grew up and worked and played with.

These smells and many others are precious to me.

I think I’ll dig one of my old comic books out of a box, have a sniff and go back in time and just...remember.

See you out there.

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