Smells and
music, probably other things too, always bring back strong memories for me. Today
as I cooked lunch there was a very distinct smell, not one expected with just a
quesadilla, but one with a memory that I thought you would all enjoy. As with
many memories, I can’t recall the details as well as I would like, but will try
anyway.
It was
sometime between spring and autumn as the front windows were opened to bring in
a breeze. A non-memorable form of meat product was cooking in the kitchen. This
specific meat, or the way it was prepared, caused a very pungent smell that
filled the air.
Apparently
this smell drifted for miles catching the attention of many unwanted flies in
the area. Before we knew it there were a
hundred flies in competition with one another to get into the house. This meat
smell must have been powerful enough to make the flies believe it was a dead
rotting thing in which they could lay their disgusting eggs.
Within a few
minutes the flies were hardly distinguishable and appeared to be black cloud
seeping into our home like the blackest smoke from a fire. As the family became
aware of the pest problem Dad yelled from his usually spot on the floor for
Karen and Charlie to grab the fly-swatters.
The rest of
the memory solely consists of Karen and Charlie furiously swatting fly and fly
after fly with dad consistently yelling something about chopping their heads
off or they will come back to life. Are you kidding me? Those highly energetic
kids couldn’t even keep up with the live ones, let alone making sure the ones
on the ground were properly beheaded for their transgressions.
Karen and
Charlie whipped those fly-swatters with reckless abandon long after the windows
were closed and the flies were lying helplessly on the floor. Dad filled in as
final executioner to make sure the job was done to his satisfaction. The vacuum
was wheeled in to clean up the remains and I am sure we devoured what was a delicious
dinner despite what we had just witnessed.
I am not
sure what role I actually played in the story other than awe and laughter over
what was unfolding before my eyes. Anyone else remember this event?
