Running With Quills: Elizabeth G. thinks the UNMISTAKABLE

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Monday, November 12, 2007

Elizabeth G. thinks the UNMISTAKABLE

The other day I was thinking about what we human beings have in common. (Okay, okay, I admit it was more like woolgathering. Or daydreaming. Or even a brain hiccup since I was supposed to be writing a very frightening and intense scene for the end of NIGHT HUNGER, my next vampire romance novel.)

But I digress. (Sigh. As I so often do.)

Anyway, I was mulling over the idea that certain sights and sounds and smells are common experiences for many of us, maybe for most of us. You know the ones that have been deeply embedded in our memory since childhood, the ones that are unmistakable.

Here are a few that popped into my head, some sad, some happy; some I’d rather forget, some priceless memories.

Hearing the distinctive wail of an ambulance siren.

Hearing the early-morning call of our resident cardinals singing to each other before I’ve even opened my eyes.

The smell of a skunk. (Hence, the eye-catching photo above.)

The smell of fresh-baked Snickerdoodle cookies.

The sight of a young man in uniform (young enough to be my own son) saying goodbye to his family at the airport.

The sight of a family reuniting at that same airport, happy and unselfconscious tears flowing.

The sound of “Taps” being played by a single bugle.

The sound of the national anthem being sung by an all-male choir.

(Actually, both of these make me teary.)

The malodorous scent of lilies. (For one thing, I’m highly allergic to lilies. For another, they always make me think of funerals.)

The wondrous scent of lilacs. (Long story short: very, very happy childhood memories.)

And now for a few of my personal favorites, all priceless:

The scent of my dad’s aftershave. (Happy and sad because he's no longer with us.)

The sound of my son’s laughter.

The magical sight of Christmas lights.

Now it’s your turn to share with the rest of us here at RWQ. What are some of your favorite (or not-so-favorite) unmistakable sights and sounds and smells?

Thoughtfully yours,
EG

26 Comments:

karende said...: Good:
The smell of roses, the old fashioned kind my granny used to grow
Lilacs and honeysuckle
Freshly dug sassafras roots
Spicy smells in my gran’s kitchen from baking yummy stuff for the holidays
The sweet smell of a clean new baby [MY new babies, actually]

Not so good:
The sound of screeching tires and a yelp
Fire trucks and ambulances
The smell of spinach cooking [Popeye was a liar]
Phone calls in the middle of the night - they’re usually bad news

karibear; 9:55 PM
Anonymous said...: Good childhood/teenage memories:
1) The smell of smoked ham and smoked lamb cooking on desember 23 every year, when my mom was getting ready for Christmas and made sure she cooked the meat early.

2) The smell of rice & milk soup cooking on a cold winter´s day after playing in the snow when I was a child (sadly this last decade or so it hardly ever snows the way it did in my childhood because of global warming).

3) The smell of roses.

4) The taste of Champagne when I drank it for the first time at 18 years of age. (Didn´t like the taste very much, but oh, did I ever feel GROWN UP. lol)

5) The smell of newly cut hay in summer.

Adult memories:
1) The first time I ate snails in a restaurant. I liked it very much.

2) The first time I cooked and ate scallops. I liked those very much too until I found out I had very, very, very allergic response to it.; 11:49 PM
DFender said...: *sigh* Lost my post... anyway, interesting topic!

Favorites:
Just bathed babies
Vanilla
Ylang-Ylang
HHP's cologne
Bonfires
Bagpipes
Celtic music
The national anthem
Parades
Christmas lights

Yuckiest:
Orchids
Rainy worms
Bus fumes
Whining!

Great way to start the morning, EG!
Happy Wednesday!

Deb; 3:41 AM
Lori Foster said...: Blast blogger! I had a whole post written, and it gulped it down without posting it.
:::sigh::::

Shorter version - I love things to do with the lake where I grew up, like the sound of a motor boat first thing in the morning, or the waves lapping on the shore, or the sun on freshly mown grass.

I still get alert when any child says, "Mom!" because it's so familiar.
And the smell of collard greens cooking is about as foul as it gets.
Hugs,

Lori; 4:24 AM
elizabeth said...: Favorite sound: the immense silence of the Canyon Country.

Favorite scent: the smell of rain on the wind in the desert.

Unfavorite scent: skunk road kill.

Can you tell I've been on the road?; 8:40 AM
Michelle said...: Good:

I absolutely agree with lilacs--one of my all-time favorite scents and precious to me as the childhood memories they conjure.
Puppy breath and happy dog barks
Church bells
Pipe tobacco--If I smell it, I always expect to see my much beloved and missed grandfather trying to cajole me into a game of cribbage.

Not so good:
Bagpipes. They are so mournful and I will forever asscoiate them with My uncle's funeral. He was a firefighter, and their funerals are brutal with all the ritual.
The yelp of an animal in pain.
Muzak. Ugh.; 9:26 AM
Brandy said...: The smell of vanilla, probably why I use a perfume similar to it.
The smell of my Son's hair after his bath.
My Son's giggle.
The way my daughter looks when she's deep in a book. (I know that look!)
My husbands laugh and the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles.
My fur-baby, Layla, how her purr is comforting and her fur so soft.
The sound of birds. (Any and all, I love them.)
The feel of a smooth spine on a new book. *g*

Thanks for the fun!; 9:44 AM
Stella said...: Darn Blogger anyway! Can't repeat the comments it just ate immediately. Try again later.

Stella; 10:01 AM
talpianna said...: People being et by Blogger: Write your posts in Notepad or WriteMail, then copy and paste here.

Lovely:
A soft cat (preferably fluffy) curled up atop or next to me and purring
The smell of bread baking
The good garlicky smell of roasting lamb
Lily-of-the-valley or citrus perfume
The sound of rain on the roof when I'm snuggled up in bed (preferably under a couple of quilts and with a cat or two)
The smell of the air outdoors right after that rainstorm
Baskin-Robbins Mocha Almond Fudge ice cream
Strawberries with sugar and cream
Carnations

Loathsome:
The smell of vinegar (especially when Easter-egg dyeing)
The smell of a freshly manured lawn
Shrieking alarms of any sort
Slasher films
Gardenias (I'm allergic or something)
Mayonnaise
Lima beans and peas
Raisins
Really loud heavy metal music
Really heavy metal falling on my foot

Things that always move me to tears

The scene at the end of The Miracle Worker where Helen Keller finally learns to associate water with the word "water"

Robert Nathan's Dunkirk--in fact, practically anything to do with Dunkirk

The spiritual exchange scene in Descent into Hell by Charles Williams (too complicated to explain--read the book); 1:35 PM
Jayne Ann Krentz said...: The sight of downtown Seattle at 4:30 on a rainy winter afternoon when there is still a little mysterious light left in the sky but all the streetlamps are glowing.

--Jayne; 3:07 PM
susan andersen said...: Probably not unique to me but some fave sounds and sights are:

Cat's purr
scent of freshly mown grass
laughter
seagull's cry
multi=colored Christmas lights
cats sleeping in a jumble
city lights
Mt Rainier and the Olympic and Cascade mountains

the feel of sun on my shoulders

I could go on and on; 3:14 PM
Elizabeth Guest said...: Love all the lovely and happy memories you're sharing! Understand/share some of the not-so-lovely ones.

Bagpipes fall into the happy and sad category for me. I love the sound, but if it's playing "Amazing Grace," I'm going to be a puddle of tears.

~EG; 4:27 PM
karende said...: I used to love Amazing Grace, but it was used at the end of a movie called, I think, The Last Cattle Drive. A non-violent religious group had moved west to be free to worship in their own way, then some of the locals near where they homesteaded tried to drive them out. A bunch of cowboys from the cattle drive tried to help the group stay, and it turned into a slaughter. The religious weren’t hurt, but at the end they said the land was too bloody for them, and the last remaining cowboy looked at all the dead spread over the ground and Amazing Grace played. I can’t hear it now without seeing that scene in my mind, and it’s just too depressing.

karibear; 4:38 PM
Elizabeth Guest said...: karibear~from your description, I'm really glad I've never seen that movie! :-)

Have a great Wednesday evening all!
~EG; 7:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Favorites:

The smell of lilacs, honeysuckle, roses, lilacs & honeysuckle from childhood, roses from my husband who used to give them to me all the time, especially for no reason.

My cats purring or playing with each other, the mighty hunters stalking their prey...

Baby smells
Early morning birdsong
Rain on the roof
New mown grass
A child's laughter
My children's smiles

Not so favorites:
Skunks
Middle of the night phone calls
Burnt hair (did that once as a kid, YUCK)
Sirens and flashing red or blue lights

Kathy H; 10:56 AM
talpianna said...: I think one's reaction to "Amazing Grace" played on the bagpipes depends on whether one associates it with funerals or the Edinburgh Tattoo. Has anyone else seen the PBS documentary about the history of the song? The man who wrote it was originally a slave trader who got saved* during a storm that nearly sank his ship and became a clergyman. But the original song didn't make much of an impact; it wasn't until it was set to its current melody that it became a classic. It's a wonderful story; and the program has versions sung by everyone from Judy Collins to a black gospel choir to the divine Jessye Norman.

*in the religious sense of the word; 2:14 PM
Ranurgis said...: Like Proust and everybody else, I've got good and bad memories tied up in sounds and smells.

Happy:
The smell of sun-ripened tomatoes reminds me of my first home; they grew in the front garden.
lilacs are spring
freshly mowed grass
birdsong
a soft breeze on a warm day
the light, smell and sight of a campfire, especially when toasting marshmallows or wieners
the feel of the warm body of a baby or small animal
meat roasting with garlic and onions
the scent of spicy cookies baking
sunlight on ice and snow in trees that make them look dressed in gossamer and diamonds
earth and fields covered by pristine snow
the smell and sound of fallen autumn leaves when you walk through them
the scent of woods at almost any time
bagpipes, though mournful and haunting, also bring happy memories of Scotland
carnations

Dislike:
sirens (Today, one woman on the bus with children told another that she makes her daughter stay close to her by telling her a fire-truck is coming--just after one went screeching past us.)
screeching tires, especially when followed by a yelp or thunk
smell of skunks or, as someone told me the smell of toms in heat
heavy metal or most other very loud music
the howling of icy wind, like right now, bringing the promise of snow and icy weather
souped up motorbikes and cars that go roaring by my window and make my heart almost stop; 2:44 PM
Ranurgis said...: Hi, Talpianna,

I love "Amazing Grace" though I hadn't heard of the documentary.

I've loved bagpipes since I first heard them. But my biggest love comes from actually attending the Edinburgh Tattoo, even if it was only the dress rehearsal. It was a truly awesome experience sitting in the stands with the castle and hill as backdrop. I taped it all on a now ancient spool to spool tape recorder.

Thanks for the info.

Great topic, EG.; 2:52 PM
Elizabeth Guest said...: ranurgis said: bagpipes, though mournful and haunting, also bring happy memories of Scotland.

For me, too. My great-great-great-greats were from Scotland and I felt I'd returned home the minute I stepped off the plane in Edinburgh. Sniff. Sniff.

~EG; 5:12 PM
Elizabeth Guest said...: talpianna~thank you for the fascinating insights into the history of "Amazing Grace." I'd love to see that documentary sometime.

~EG; 5:15 PM
talpianna said...: Elizabeth, it can be rented from blockbuster:

http://www.blockbuster.com/catalog/movieDetails/1047

or bought used on amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Moyers-Collection-Amazing-Grace/dp/6301766377

http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Moyers-Collins-Ritchie-Williams/dp/B000JG7QMK; 3:07 PM
Elizabeth Guest said...: talpianna said...
Elizabeth, it can be rented from blockbuster, etc...

Thank you for sharing the info! I've added this to my TBR/TBW pile for my hiatus. :-)

~EG; 4:12 PM
talpianna said...: I hope you enjoy it. As you no doubt know, Bill Moyers, who made the film, is himself an ordained Baptist minister.; 4:19 PM
Ranurgis said...: "Amazing Grace" seems to be an almost universal favorite. Even my uncle from Berlin who know very little English really loved it. If I remember correctly, when he came to visit my mother here in 1973, he brought a 45rpm Lp for her with a Judy (?) Collins version on it.; 11:00 PM
Elizabeth Guest said...: talpianna~I vaguely recalled that Bill Moyers was an ordained minister of some kind. I've watched a number of his specials on PBS. Thanks again for sharing the info.

~EG, who is trying to clear her foogie brain on this cold and rainy Monday morning. :-); 6:03 AM
Elizabeth Guest said...: ranurgis said: "Amazing Grace" seems to be an almost universal favorite.

Yes, it does seem that way. I've heard everyone sing it from Elvis to church choirs to bagpipes. The latter is always so emotionally moving as a number of us have mentioned.

~EG going in search of her first cup of coffee on a foogie-brained and foggy morning.; 6:08 AM

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Monday, November 12, 2007

Elizabeth G. thinks the UNMISTAKABLE

26 Comments: