I can still smell my gramps’ 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 think I was maybe ten years old when my gramps would shave and put on the cologne, which was over 45 years ago, but if I smell the scent I am taken right back to that time in a moment. My gramps 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 car to work. They had a really cool little camp on the lake and when I was a little kid 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 chop wood for their stone fireplace in the living room. It would keep us nice and warm though and I really liked going out to the back yard where all the trees were and helping gramps chop them down. He ran an HVAC company for many years and would sell electric heating systems to neighbors and businesses in town. I would love to go back up there one day to see the old town.