Memory Kickstart

I love how powerful scent is to memory, especially my memory of childhood and family. Mothballs always make me think of my Italian grandparents... not that their home reeked of mothballs, but that's where I first encountered the scent. Lemon verbena makes me think of my English grandparents' bathroom, and I still love that scent so much. Buttered toast makes me think of my father. Certain perfumes remind me of my mother.

Music is so evocative too. When I first heard "Clair de Lune," I was intoxicated by it, and had to play it over and over, to such an extent that I called my mother, who informed me that she had played a recording of it endlessly when expecting me. Hmmm! Today I found some old tapes on my shelves that have not been replaced by CDs or downloads. So I was playing Roxy Music and Dire Straits. The tapes are old however, so there was a slightly muffled, hollow sound quality. I was immediately taken back to the 1980s, a house party, I was upstairs in this creaky old house, bad paint job... and the music pounding downstairs, coming up to me in that same hollow, distant way. The feelings I'd had at the time were brought back to me too: confusion, hope, optimism, romance... in that regard not much has changed and that's just fine.