Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Flashback

I walked past a truck and its exhaust smelled just like Elmer's Glue. You know, the kind that is white and runny and that you use to stick glitter and macaroni onto paper as a kid. The Elmer's Glue smell, however, sparked a different memory in me. There was a boy from India in my fifth grade class. Actually he was there through all of elementary and junior high school. He used to write WACKA WACKA on the desks and chairs. Anyway, in fifth grade he used to eat Elmer's Glue. I think he even put it on a donut once. He was a wierd one--but most boys are at least a little wierd. I foudn out a couple of years ago that he ended up at Georgia Tech in the same dorm as one of my other classmates. Coming from Idaho, that is an amazing coincidence. I probably wouldn't recognize him if I met him and I don't know if we would have anything to talk about. But he remains in my memory with a vividity that I wish I could have for my school lessons from the day before. He is so firmly there that, after years of not having him cross my mind, he can spring into it on an idle Wednesday where I happen to walk past a truck with exhaust that smell like Elmer's Glue.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay, for ultimate wierdness, the computer geeks and math majors I know now knew HIM in highschool after he left Logos. Apparently, he was revered as some sort of techie hippy genius.

thebeloved said...

Yep... ultimate wierdness. But it is a happy sort of wierdness.

Anonymous said...

The word "wierdness" looks weird to me. I can't quite put my finger on it.
anon

thebeloved said...

You know... it is probably because it is misspelled. Funny that! :D

Anonymous said...

You mean "mispelled", of course. anon

thebeloved said...

No, actually I meant misspelled. Check it out.:D

Ibid said...

Smells. smellsy smellsy. I love them. They make life so much vivid.

Ibid said...

more

Anonymous said...

Well I'll be planted! I DID misspell "misspelled". Yet another mistep on my part. anon

thebeloved said...

Your "missteps" seem to be compounding. :D

mreddie said...

It is odd to me how snippets of smell memories can hang around so long and then drive you crazy as to when and where you have smelled that before. We are still out of town at the daughter's in Tennessee and have had trouble posting and commenting. ec