Ever Think About…

Have you ever thought about how certain things affect us?  Smells can bring back distant memories as if you were standing right there.  Cookies backing take you back to your mom’s kitchen.  The touch of a garment might remind you that you forgot to pick your dry cleaning.  An image of a barber pole instantly takes you back to the days your dad took you to get a hair cut. Reliving these moment years and years in the future.  Past decisions can do the same thing.  You may think to yourself that if you had it to do over again you might do it this way.  You keep all these little things to yourself, they are like treasures to some of us.  They are part of the building blocks that make us who we are.  They are our experiences, they are what help to define us.

Of the many of these little treasures I have, there are two in particular that I would like to share.  The first one is the day that I smoked my first cigar.  Every time I smell the scent of a cigar it brings me back to this day.  It was a Saturday afternoon, I was hanging out with my two best friends at one of their houses.  I don’t remember exactly how it got started but we were sitting out on the patio and decided to play some dominoes.  I had a few hours to kill before I had to go to work.  The brother-in-law of one of my friends saw us and decided to join in and made it a foursome.  Before we started though he said that we had to do this right.  So he goes back into the house and brings out four cigars, four shot glasses and a small bottle of brandy.  Now I had never smoked a day in my life and was pretty apprehensive about lighting up.  You know, cancer and all.  As always a little peer pressure never hurt anyone and I was lighting up.  Now I am sure this is what hooked me from day one.  I asked what the brandy was for and I was told that you dip the unlit end in the brandy between drags.  I thought to myself they must be kidding. So as before I went along and the hours of the afternoon just melted away.  Game after game went on, I have no idea who won.  All I know is that later on at work I had the biggest smile for my entire shift.

My second little treasure is not a smell or a touch, even though I do have several like that.  This one is a voice, its a voice that sends goosebumps up my back.  Its not what you think though.  It’s not a voice of some long lost disciplinarian.  Someone I feared growing up.  This is a voice of deep power and wisdom.  Even more odd, is that it comes from a cartoon, then later from movies.  It never affected me as a child, but as I hear it again today it sends those goosebumps up my back fills me with a felling of “Right”.  Its hard to explain really, but you will know what I mean.  The right words coupled with the right voice can move things.  So the next time you hear Optimus Prime say “Autobots, transform and roll out!”, and those goosebumps run up your back you will know exactly what I am talking about.