new smells

the new smells of bishop confuse me. they are just that, new. they don't have an association with thoughts, memories or anything personal at all. the smells are musty and hot, like davis. but at the same time not at all like davis. i was biking along the outskirts of town today and i got a whiff... it hit me, just then. the scent of dried grass and the hot dirt road filled my nose and i had nothing, no emotion associated with it. maybe a little curiosity. most peculiarly, the smell was no different than any other dried grassy field. you know that smell. in davis it always smelled good. in the berkeley hills it always smelled good too. i would get ready for what was about to happen when that smell came by me. take a deep breath, inhale with all your/my might, smile, hold it in a little bit and finally exhale with true and intangible satisfaction. so simple and yet so beautiful. it smelled warm and it smelled familiar. it smelled of hay, stale water, happiness and sunny afternoons.

smells mysteriously do that to you. one whiff and you're transported to another time. a memory perhaps. a nap on the quad or in the arboretum during the lazy spring quarter. good times had with friends, or a brisk shuffle to class in the davis winter, or a few hours spent warm at cafe roma (when it was still there).

i absolutely love how smells carry that much power. for now the smells here in bishop are empty. over time, maybe, they will build and grow into something familiar. i wonder how long it might take and when i will realize it.