Olive oil, Motor Oil? What's the difference?

From the unlikeliest of sources came an olfactory blast from the past.

As I was standing in the kitchen -- looking for something to eat in our pantry -- I noticed the little container of automobile touch-up paint that ben had picked it from our Honda dealership to repair a scratch made by a brush with a wayward bumper (don't ask).

Now, you should know that I take every opportunity to demonstrate my above-average intelligence. So, it should come to no surprise that within moments of spying that bottle I was already unscrewing the cap and putting the thing up to my nose.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not one of those glue-sniffing kids. And, believe me, I certainly don't go on any toxic joyrides.

Something just compelled me to sniff the darn thing.

My mom probably expects this from me. Right now she's saying "That Mena always has to smell everything -- she's done it since she was a baby."

It's like I'm a damn bloodhound or something.

Within a millisecond of the sniff I was a kid back in Los Angeles -- sitting in the garage with my grandfather.

My grandfather has always been an artist -- he's where I got my love of creative arts.

His actual profession was something quite different -- he was an auto-mechanic.

So now, let's just mix an auto-mechanic's resources (heavily toxic car paint) with a love of painting and you'll get a recipe for some serious noxious fumes. Now add one more thing to the mix: Extra-large canvases and a desire to paint like Jackson Pollock.

He really did a great job on those canvases -- his experiments with modern art and the medium of carcinogenic paint were quite revolutionary for our house. Unfortunately, we were all so scared of getting sick from the works that they ended up hanging in the garage.

Oh the sweet smell of art!

It should come as no surprise that most paints now give me hives and a runny nose.

I think I should be happy I didn't sprout a third eye.

Comments

[andrea]

My memories of paint aren't so nice. I was helping my cousin paint her dollhouse when I realised I'm allergic to paint.

Very allergic. Very, very allergic.

Bleah.

[Rajan]

i did a school project which involved constructing large scenery - which also involved painting large slabs of freestanding cardboard with industrial grade paint (because it was cheap).

i spent the evening in a garage listening to marilyn manson, and painting... i didn't even know it at the time, but I got high as a kite.

[Hanna]

One of my art professors loved JP so much...I think she actually got hot when she was up in front of the class talking about him...I didn't share her love, but I do have an appreciation for his art...

[Tiffany]

Mena, I'm the same way with smells. I don't know if it's the intensity of memories attached to certain smells, or if my nose has a mind of it's own (now that's a mental picture), but I often find myself compelled to smell things. My husband tease me about it- gently.

[Jeff]

Ah, smells...

I'm not usually a "sniffer" (toxic or otherwise) but when I was about 1 year old I had a sulpher-based ointment for a skin problem.

I still have the original bottle (with a little ointment even) and, while I haven't smelled it in many, many years, I used to LOVE to take a whiff every so often as I grew up.

It's very odd because I've never been "attracted" to a smell before. And sulpher of all things!

[Helen]

I'm anosmic. I've never been able to smell, so I have no smell-related memories to share.

:(

Maybe if you have any free time you can try describing some of your favorite smells to me.

[Veronica]

My grandfather had an auto shop, where he sold some used cars, but mostly he repaired cars that had been in accidents. He was a "body man." There is nothing quite like the smell of an auto shop, and I know how the smell of paint can sometimes take me back to that shop. It has been over 15 years since my grandpa died, and we lost the shop in a fire about 10 years ago, but I can recall that scent so vividly, it is amazing. To this day, I love to go into auto parts stores and any auto repair shop, just for the aroma.
Thanks for taking me back to Franks Auto Body.
I should also mention, that as a little girl, I was flabbergasted to see the auto mechanic pin-up girl calendar my grandpa had hanging up in his office. It embarrassed and delighted me. I thought it so scandalous that he would have it right there, in plain view of everyone who dared to walk in! I couldn’t get over it.