I read in an article somewhere that stated the most powerful sense in the human body is the sense of smell. The writer went on to explain that the sense of smell can trigger even the oldest memory.
But if I had my druthers, there is one particular smell I would prefer to never ever remember and that is the unnerving and pungent aroma of a boiling pig belly or as it's known in some circles, Tripe.
Tripe, I am told, is an acquired taste. A person either loves its taste or hates it; there is no inbetween.
My father, unfortunately for the noses of my brother, myself and my surrounding neighbors, enjoyed the taste of Tripe. The odor of Tripe smelled like raw sewage and let's be rational here, who wants to live in a sewer.
My mother, bless her soul, occassionally cooked Tripe for my dad. I never could understand how my mom could stay in the same house, much less hovering over a stove while the unbearable fumes of boiling tripe coarsed through the air and into her nose.
Was it some unfathomable penance of some sort? Or did she do it for another reason?
Well, years later when I fell head over heels in love with the gal I proudly call my wife, I finally understood why mom gladly cooked Tripe for my dad.
And if you are in love you should understand too.
Well, I did change the cat litter a couple of times when you were in the hospital! Ugh. Threw up too!
ReplyDeleteLove is strange and beautiful. Maybe that's how parents can change diapers.
THANK YOU Jimmy for doing all the distasteful and miserable tasks involved with caregiving for me. You are a wonderful husband and I love you to the bottom of my heart, soul, and mind. You are my world. We are joined at the hip and I thank G-d for that every single day. And that's NO tripe!!!!
Our mother cooked pickled pigs' feet for my father....I never could understand why he would want to eat that....it was horrible, looked horrible, smelled horrible...ugh.....but love knows no bounds. My bad smell memory is Rice A Roni....my ex used to include that with anything anytime he cooked a meal. (Like when I was working and he wasn't). The odor of Rice A Roni makes me sick to my stomach. Then again when I was a teenager a friend introduced me to lung sandwiches. It was something boiled in oil and served on a small roll with some kind of cheese. And my ex fiance loved his mother's liver and onions. Kinda makes you want to be a vegetarian (except for the rice a roni). But as you say, it's more about love (and Febreze). linda "I'm melting".
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