CONFESSION: I get nostalgic for my father when I smell a bad cigar.

[BurtWorm]

Nothing Freudian about it (I don't think). He used to smoke White Owls and William Penns while he was working on or around the house, and--now that I think of it--that odor always signaled he was in very good humor (which was less than half the time). I'm smelling something that reminds me of that awful aroma right now as construction or repair work is being done in this office and some toxic chemical is leaking through the vents. If I don't reply to any posts in this thread (assuming there might be any), it's because I've passed out from the fumes. Which would mean this nostalgia was induced by intoxication.

PS: In which case, call 911.

[Inland]

1. Smell brings memories.

A certain weather and smell puts me right in the Rocky Mountain for a second.

[BurtWorm]

7. The smell of snow here in the NYC reminds me of my childhood in Maine.

A certain smell in the air just before a rainstorm reminds me of my toddlerhood in the wilds of New Jersey.

[Aiptasia]

2. Mmmmm, the smell of lung cancer

If it's any consequence, I was walking around my real estate office the other day and smelled marshmellows, like somebody was making S'mores, in their office and/or cubicle.

Turns out it was someone burning a vanilla scented candle and someone else burning a hazelnut one a little further down the hall. It's so fun when the mind attempts to make sense of information and fills in the gaps (matrixing).

[Bunny]

3. I get the same way when I smell or even see Half and Half pipe tobacco.

Dad always smoked that. Brings back memories...

[BurtWorm]

5. My father smoked that too. And Seton Hall.

Bad tobacco. Good memories. Go figure!

[Worst Username Ever]

4. Same here, but pipe smoke.

My dad is still here but I zap right back to being 5 or so when I smell sweet pipe smoke. He smoked till I was 7 or so.

[Taxloss]

6. I think of my Grandfather when I smell pipe smoke.

And I think of my father when I smell Cafe Creme cigars.

Grandpa died two years ago, and dad is still with me, thankfully.

[Left Is Write]

9. My grandfather smoked a pipe too.

The smell could still bring me right back. Pipe tobacco and Pep-O-Mint lifesavers.

[Taxloss]

10. Oh yes! He had humbugs!

He quit the pipe in his latter years (80+) and sucked boiled sweets instead.

[fluffernutter]

8. i love scent memories.

a certain clean, soap and lotiony smell makes me think of my sweet gram, whom i miss dearly. a certain cologne reminds me of my father, i can almost feel the roughness of his chin against my cheek from him carrying me when i smell it.

i'm glad this is a good memory for you of your dad :) and i hope you don't pass out!

[BurtWorm]

11. Thank you. I'm still alive, still conscious.

Still nostalgic.

[SheilaT]

12. The smell of Chinese food

and the correct combination of air temperature and humidity make me feel like I'm back in Hawaii. It's actually happened to me here in Kansas.

[BurtWorm]

13. Wow! That's a change!

But then I guess Maine to NYC, which is what I did, is a pretty big change in itself.

[SheilaT]

14. I've had the good fortune

to live in several different parts of the country and to visit many more. I spent about two months in Hawaii some years ago, and it's amazing how the smell of Chinese food if I'm outside in the exact right temperature and humidity range brings it back. There's also a temperature and humidity gradient that reminds me of Boulder, Colorado, where we lived before coming to Kansas, but I've only experienced that about twice in 14 years.

Weather can be local in a very profound way. I notice that different places really feel different, even if the temperature and humidity is supposedly the same. Michigan in the summer does not feel like Kansas in the summer. And so on.