Scott: Strange things about Memories

Have you every noticed that sometimes old memories pop up out of nowhere? I don’t mean memories from last week or last month, but from 40 or 50 years ago. Memories from when you were a child. Usually these are pleasant memories and nice to revisit having had long ago forgotten about them.

Some months ago rather than properly manage individuals that were abusing some company rules about break time and duration the company Margaret works for implemented a company wide rule that you could no longer leave the property during break.

Now that in itself isn’t a big deal, because how far can you go on a 15 minute break, but Margaret and a few others me included use to take that 15 minute break and walk around the industrial park that out company's building is located in. With the new rule that would no longer be possible.

Since people are endlessly resourceful some started walking in the parking lot, others Margaret and I started walking around the building. Its a big building and directly behind it is a railroad tracks.

The path around the building is not particularly nice. Its not even OK. It kind of dirty and you have to climb a steep trail to get around the back, Then you have to walk along on the railroad tracks to keep out of the mud. For the most part along the tracks there is a fair amount of garbage. At one end of the building there is a small muddy pond often with a few ducks in it.

In spite of all that for some strange reason its a pleasant walk! Why is that?

I think I might have an answers! In some small part the company tried to take something away and a way was found to continue the walks while sort of following the new rules. But I think that the real reason might be how those really old memories might get evoked. You see the trail around the building on the railroad tracks smells slightly of creosote. All railroad tracks do. That smell of creosote dredges up times and memories from long ago when walking and playing along the railroad tracks in the summertime with friends were fun. So even today that smell of creosote seems to make things pleasant.