I Take Their Word For It

I have a terrible sense of smell.

I didn't really figure it out how bad it was until I was in college. There was a rendering plant near college, and sometimes, when the wind was just right (or wrong), the entire campus smelled like dog food...to me. To others, it was retch-inducing. I started wondering why it didn't bother me so much, and eventually I figured out that I just didn't have a very sensitive sniffer.

Now, I like to know my boundaries and limits, so a friend of mine and I sat down, and we really analyzed how my nose treats smells. Granted, I have no basis for comparison, but we both tried to be as objective as possible. We came to the following conclusions:

1. I can smell things.
2. My nose (sense of smell) tires easily.
3. I have smell-memories.

The first one isn't that big a deal. The second one is interesting; I usually only smell things for one breath. You know how when you rub your fingertip on a piece of fabric, back and forth, until you lose sensation in the skin on your fingertip? It's like that. I can smell; then, I can't. So, we called that, "tiring".

As for the third one, I have memories that are related to smells. I can recall smelling things while doing something. I even recognize smells (usually, strong smells: skunk, roof tar, natural gas, etc.).

Now, this might not sound too bad. I mean, I've got two children that both went through diapers. Guess which parent got the stinky ones, and guess who emptied the diaper pail? Even now that they are older, I do the garbage. I get the stinky rotten food out of the back of the refrigerator. It doesn't bother me, we all just do the jobs we're best suited for.

One thing does make me wonder though. You see, not having a good sense of smell lends itself to not having a good sense of taste.

I can taste sweet, and salt, and spicy. Bitter doesn't really register (grapefruit juice is like a 'dry' orange juice to me), and sour isn't really there, either. I like a curiously strong mint. But I don't pick foods by flavor, usually, I really pick much of what I eat by texture, or how much fun it is to eat.

Now, I started talking to my mom about this, and she mentioned that my uncle (her brother) had a tasting issue also. He went and had some surgery on his nasal cavity, and voila! He can taste his food! I believe his exact quote was, "I'm going to weight 800 pounds!"

So, right now, I eat just about anything. I try to do so in moderation, or eat things that I know are good for me. I'm worried about looking into this surgery, 'cause I'm afraid I won't like some foods that are "fun" to eat, like hot wings, or spicy asian stir-fry, or grapefruit juice.

On the other hand, people tell me the difference between a still-warm, freshly-baked cookie and a cookie from the jar is amazing.

Until another time,
Salt