I can still smell my grandpa’s English Leather cologne that he would put on after shaving.
It had a musky smell and whenever I smell it I automatically start looking for Stan my gramps.
It is amazing how strong the sense of smell can be tied to a memory so long ago. I guess I was maybe ten years old when my grandpa would shave and put on the cologne, which was over 45 years ago, however if I smell the scent I am taken right back to that time in a moment. My grandpa was a local business owner and was still working when I was a kid, so in the morning I would smell his aftershave when he was getting ready to take his climate controlled ride in the vehicle to work. They had cool little camp on the lake and when I was a little child I was living with them for five years as my parents were both young and working all the time with no money. Heating and air conditioning were not installed yet in the camp, so in the winters we would have to split wood for their cement fireplace in the dining room. It would keep us good and warm though and I unquestionably liked going out to the back yard where all the trees were and helping grandpa split them down. He ran an HVAC business for many years and would sell electric boilers to neighbors and businesses in town. I would like to go back up there one afternoon to see the old town.