Laundry products. They used to smell so good!
Today, the strongest laundry scents smell like some kind of vitriolic pepper spray to me -- invisible firecrackers of scent popping wildly in all directions upon even the most subtle movement of a clothed body, emitting a biting, burning sensation to my nose, and affecting me like a blow to the head. I contrast this to the old days, when I would hold freshly washed cottons to my face and sniff! I remember the gentle, powdery, motherly scent. How I luxuriated in the world of smells I adored!
Ironically, I had to visit Paris to find the USA fragrances of my memory. Paris was where they'd stored those sweet and lovely, "benign" scents of my youth! How could this be?
Ah, better laundry-toxin regulations in Europe, that's how!
In France, I didn't have to shut the car doors and windows and seal the inner vents when parked in front of a laundromat. In France, I could not only exit my car, but I could walk -- walk, I tell you! -- to the very doorway of the laundromat and chat with the people inside! (I didn't venture in -- I was afraid the unbelievable experience would shatter. I was profoundly happy not to have to duck for cover.)
I am aware of how positively ridiculous this may sound to those of you who have never had to flee from physically overpowering chemical scents. But to those of you who know this routine: I trust you'll understand the thrill I felt just standing there -- in the doorway of a laundromat.
Cheers!
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