28 April, 2011
The Invisible Scent
Brosius’s mission became clear. Ackerman had outlined it for him: “Smells detonate softly in our memory like poignant land mines, hidden under the weedy mass of many years and experiences. Hit a tripwire of smell, and memories explode all at once. A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth.”
He had to find those undergrowths, everywhere. The smell of dirt made him happy and inspired a feeling of playfulness and youth. Why? He reasoned that as children, people dug around a lot in the yard. Kids grew up smelling dirt. Brosius shoveled some soil from his farm into a plastic bag and brought it back to New York. He and a partner had started a company called Demeter, and Brosius recalls throwing his bag of dirt on the table and telling everyone in the room, “I want this.”
from Laura to me
now, to you
