Frank Sinatra once said, "Fresh air makes me throw up. I can't handle it. I'd rather be around three Denobili cigars blowing in my face all night."...
There aren't very many cigars around the airport these days now that Fritz is gone, (http://aufderheideflying.blogspot.com/2011/05/has-your-aircraft-been-fritzed.html) but if Sinatra was disgusted by clean air, he could certainly breathe comfortably around the AufderHeide Flying Service!
You see the smell of the airport is a very distinct, unique smell. I can vividly remember smelling this aroma even back in my childhood. The first recollection I have of this pungent smell dates back 0o my Pre-School and Kindergarten years at the First Baptist Church. The school only lasted from 8-11:30 and usually during the slow season my daddy would come pick me up on his way home to lunch. I can distinctly remember standing outside in my hot pink rain boots (that I wore without socks every day and didn't match any of my outfits) eagerly waiting for my daddy's big red truck to round the corner so I could go home to eat my lunch of *bacon & goldfish and play with my Barbies while watching Fraggle Rock... I really had a rough childhood... Ha
My father's dirty red truck, which only got washed probably once every two years, would leap to a halt right in front of my teacher and she would help me climb in.... Then that smell would hit me... No, not the inch thick dust on the dash, nor his tobacco spit in the cup-holder; much worse, it was the smell of AIRPORT!!! I would immediately gag and then cover my nose with whatever pink matching outfit my mother put me in that day. My daddy would just laugh and say, "Smells like money to me!" Yet, as a small (slightly dramatic child) I did not find this amusing. I would usually end up riding the two miles home with stuck out the window in protest.
I've wanted to write on the smell of the airport for awhile now, but it was not until I began to do laundry at my house in Little Rock this morning and got a big ol' whiff of "airport" that I actually felt motivated to share it with you. While you really need to experience the airport aroma for yourself, I believe the best way to explain the smell would be to describe it like this: The smell is sorta a combination of 1)50 years worth of dust 2)Jet Fuel 3)Musty, yet strong & highly concentrated chemicals 4)Zep 45 (some sort of mechanical lubricant that we buy by the case load) 5) Stale well-water 6) Old Books & Newspapers 7) Diesel 8)Old Grease; and last but certainly not least, the main component: 9)Airplane exhaust fumes...
How glorious does that sound all mixed up together? Are you taking deep breaths now in hopes that you'll catch the slightest whiff of the unique fragrance? Yeah, I figured so... You see thing the about the smell of airport is that not only is it extremely potent, but it also lingers for hours, days, and sometimes, like in the case of my car, weeks! And airplane exhaust fumes are the worst! They can make your eyes water in 10 seconds flat, immediately give you a headache, and if you happen to land directly in its path your hair will smell like these fumes for a minimum of two days!
My mother used to wash my daddy's work clothes completely separate from the rest of the family's for fear it would contaminate the rest of our close with the unfavorable scent. Sometimes I have to wash my load of work clothes twice just to get them smelly Downy Fresh again! If I don't wash my hair after working all day, it still smells like airport in the morning. And as for my car, after having the stench of the airport baked in during 10 hour, 100degree summer days, yeah, I just don't think there is any hope in having it smell somewhat close to normal ever again!
Now, with all my degrading and off-putting remarks about the airport aroma, the truth is I've actually come to really like it. I no longer cringe or dramatically hold my breath in protest. It reminds me of my daddy, my poppa, and my brother. It reminds me of all the life lessons I've learned, the characters I've met, and the fun that I've had at the airport. It reminds me of all the hard work that has been produced and provided for me and my family. While, I certainly won't be working on a patent to bottle this fragrance any time soon, I have certainly come to appreciated it... And in the words of my father, I too now believe it, Smells Like Money To Me!
* I ate bacon every day, all day for two years straight until it made me sick and I, as my parents liked to say, overdosed. I recently began eating pepper bacon about two years ago due to the encouragement of my boyfriend. So far we're reuniting beautifully!
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