Memories.

I once had a Sesame Street scratch and sniff book.

I only remember a couple things from it, one being the scratch and sniff pickle from the Sesame Street grocer.

The other was a skunk. Of course, when you're making a scratch and sniff book, it makes total sense to appeal to the olfactory sense, even in plot. I think it had something to do with "What's that horrible smell?"

I just got back from a late-evening 7-11 run (addict!) and along the trip was an unfortunate skunk that had seen the worst side of vehicular traffic.

And I thought about where I grew up. I thought about how I'd thought that was the most horrible aroma ever. I thought about how I used to hate it when skunks would get run down because it would make everything smell nauseating for days, sometimes weeks.

And I realized that once-awful stench was now burned in my memory. I realized that I don't associate it with the same horror I once did. Ok, so I'm not running down wildlife with my car, and it's rather terrible seeing it lying there in that state.

But I find I don't recoil from the sensory experience the way I once would. That fragrance just makes me nostalgic, and I think about simpler times. Happy, in a way.