Childhood memories....

From newborn to age 18 my family live in a total of 4 or 5 homes. I'm pretty sure it is 5 but I can only remember 4 of them. The first one I remember I was entering the toddler stage. I believe it was two story and we rented. I remember having a nightlight or I am thinking of the light switch in my room. Weird how I retained that memory. I also remember getting a wading pool which was set up in the front yard on the side. I vividly recall seeing bugs (baby mosquitoes) in the water one day and I thought they were sea horses. These are my first and only memories of that home. Our next home was on Horsepen Rd in Richmond, right on the corner of Broad street. There has been a lot of construction and new building right there and I think the home and the neighbor home was bulldozed. Again I have only a couple of memories. I remember sitting in the attic with my dad watching a baseball game and eating butter pecan ice cream. To this day I dislike that flavor ice cream but I love that memory. I also remember the old couple next door, Mr. and Mrs. Freeman. They treated me like a grandson and would give me treats. I can't remember their face or anything else except the smell. No no, not that kind of smell! Mr. Freeman was a pipe smoker and I remember that smell. It's one of my favorite smells and for a few years I was a pipe smoker also (in the Navy). I used Captain Black Cherry blend, not so much for the taste but for the smell. I suspect it is near the same blend that Mr. Freeman used. I have said that if I ever started to use tobacco products again, it would be a pipe (but I would find a better tasting blend!). Many years later, 15 years or so, we drove by and stopped to see if the Freeman's still live there. Sadly Mr. Freeman had passed away but Mrs. Freeman was there and invited us in. She talked about me of course but most of my attention was on the smell of his pipe that still lingered. Do any of your have a memory that can rekindled by scent alone. I can still smell it!

New paragraph = new state! At nearly 4 years old my parents and I relocated to Georgia. Jonesboro to be exact. It was in a large subdivision called Bonanza. The homes had been built in the 60's, maybe late 50's. We got a 1500 sq ft home, two story with crawl space under it. We moved in in '74 I think. Here's a photo (it's backwards) from 1977.

Not long after this my dad with help from me repainted it a blue color and it does not appear to have been painted since! I drove by a few months ago and it's a dull old blue color.  A lot of my childhood memories come from this location as we were there for 10 years! My little sister was born while we lived in this house

And also my little little brother

<----- that's me!

It was at this house my first dog and best friend , Pat,  died (see yesterdays post). It was while at this house that my best friend , Ernest, across the street died. It was here that I met Michael, who after 20 plus years, finally reconnected on Facebook!  My first crush was on a girl next door named Jennifer. It was here I learned what a bully was. There so much more, but there is a scent I remember that I haven't forgotten.. Melted crayons. What? Yeah, I melted crayons on the baseboard heater in the family room. It just fascinated me! People with new homes probably don't know what that is. Here ya go:

I bet the mess is still there!

The final house was off Noah's Ark Rd. It was larger with a full basement and after building a room downstairs we all had separate bedrooms. Unlike the previous house we had a dining room and 2 full baths, plus basement. That basement flooded so many times it just isn't funny. We had a much larger plot of land, maybe an acre which was wooded in the back. I used to find so many scorpions and black widow spiders downstairs. I would catch snakes out back or in the woods. I got my first two cars while living there. etc..etc.. The neighborhood was much nicer than Bonanza too but I always go back to thinking of Bonanza. Must have been those melted crayon fumes I inhaled....

What scents take you down memory lane?