Heightened Awareness

Scene I:

Location: Gamber, Maryland Vaughan "Mansion"

Situation:

My son, Chris, and his friend, Jim are playing in the basement. I am working in my office on the second floor.

Jim says: "I'm going to have a cigarette.  Want one?"

Chris says: "Do not light up a cigarette in this house!  My parents don't allow smoking and if you light up here my father will raise hell."

Jim:  Your father is two stories away from us and will never know."

Jim lights up.

A loud and angry voice is suddenly heard from two flights up: "Stop smoking .. NOW!"

..........

Scene II:

Location:  Carroll Lutheran Village, Westminster, Maryland, Vaughan Residence

Situation:  Joe is in the kitchen trying out a new and interesting "secret" recipe.  Elaine is taking a nap in her bedroom and appears to be in deep sleep.

Joe's "secret" recipe calls for chopped onion and garlic.  Joe loves these "herbs."  Elaine has a garlic allergy.

Just as oven heat begins to circulate around Joe's concoction, the dreaded "Duck Call" reverberates throughout the house and Elaine's voice is heard:

"Stop cooking with garlic!"

..........

These are just two of the many instances where our human noses gave us immediate information.  However, as everyone knows, dogs are much better at using their sense of smell.

Based on a "boatload" of sources, it is claimed that dogs have around 300 million odor sensors in their noses, while humans have between 5 and 6 million.  It is estimated that a dog's sense of smell is 40 times better than that of humans.

Dogs may even be able to discern stereo and even 3D "pictures" using their "sniffers."  That is hard for me to imagine.

Even cats have more odor sensors than humans.  Probably 200 million. This would be 14 times better.

Reading Marcel Proust's  (1871-1922) A la recherche du temps perdu  (In Search of Lost Time), one is reminded that certain things and events can trigger remembrance.  Odors are the biggest "triggers" for me.

For instance, when I smell seafood, I am reminded of my childhood, growing up near the Atlantic Ocean, and how some fisherman neighbors would share their lobster catches with us.

And when I smell coffee brewing, my mind goes back to the little coffee shop in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and how delicious the brew was, and how nice it was to sit, sipping, watching the world pass by.

And when I smell gasoline, I think about my first automobile and how at even 16 cents a gallon, I would still not have enough cash to fill my tank, and fumes from a half-full tank would assault my nose.

And, finally, when I smell sweet mixtures of soap and perfume, I am reminded of how wonderful little babies (with clean diapers) smell. I still remember how nice it was to "cuddle" my three sweet-smelling babies!

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