Smells Like Freedom

You know how they say that people with sensory disabilities (blindness...deafness...bad taste in clothes) often compensate by having their other senses heightened? Well, I'm practially blind (my vision is somewhere in the neighborhood of 20/400 without my contacts), and I've pretty much destroyed my hearing through years of standing right by the speakers at concerts (I'm short. It's the only way I can see the band). But my sense of smell rivals a bloodhound. I can tell when someone has opened a bag of potato chips or a chocolate bar from three rooms away; and the minute someone microwaves their lunch in my office, I can Name That Lean Cuisine Dinner with startling accuracy.

I grew up in New Jersey near a Nestles factory, and on rainy or overcast days, you could smell the coffee from miles away (of course I could also smell the toxic waste on the Turnpike from a similar distance, so this was a mixed blessing). I sort of got used to driving and sniffing the air for a hint of java, so I tend to notice the many smells of our nation's roadways.

The LA freeways stink. Not always in a bad way, but someone with my olfactory skills picks up on hints of scents, and I find it entertaining enough to want to write about it. Thus, I introduce to you my ongoing "Freeway Smells Report".

12/19: 6 pm - The 405 Freeway South smells like basil.
12/20: 7:45 am - The 405 North smells like toast. And like a roadside diner at breakfast time. It's not the smell of a particular food, but it's that whole mish-mash of breakfasty smells.
12/20: 5:35 pm - 405 North. Scrambled Eggs.

Oh god. Now I want a mediterranean omelette in the worst way.

Stay tuned.