My usual traveling companion was not with me today, so as I walked down the aisle to find my seat on the plane, I nervously looked to see who I might be sitting with.  And there he was. The elderly gentleman seated next to me was quiet and other than the introductory “hello” as I sat down, never said another word to me during our flight.  As I stuffed the purse in the backpack and the backpack under the seat, a scent I hadn’t smelled in years wafted around me,  bringing back some interesting memories.  I would love to tell you it was a good scent, like maybe Old Spice or some Avon product, but it wasn’t.

I would guess the gentlemen to be in his mid to late 70’s.  Dressed nicely in khaki’s and a plaid button down shirt and dress shoes, you could tell at one time he probably traveled for business.  He pulled out the airline magazine and perused the pages while we were waiting on the tarmac, his hands shaking slightly.  Afterwards he pulled a Time magazine out of his bag and began reading.  At one point he looked to his right and I could see through the lenses of his thick glasses, magnifying everything.  He was balding like my dad had – right on the crown of his head but his hair but a beautiful silvery white, not the salt and pepper of my dad.

He turned down all offers of drinks but didn’t hesitate to take the cookies that were offered.  They disappeared quickly while he was reading.  All the while, I’m trying to read the same book I’ve been reading for several months now.  The one I take on every trip hoping that THIS will be the trip I finish it.  We’ll see.  By this time however, as much as I’ve tried to ignore it, as much as I’ve turned up the air above my head, the scent lingers.

I tend to question myself first.  Is it me?  Do I smell like that?  No, I don’t recall the smell before I sat down.  And it’s the familiarity of that scent that gets me.  My dad was the same kind of man, former military, he always dressed his best.  At least until he got older, when he started wearing jeans that my mom would press and crease.  I’m not kidding.  He used Aqua Velva shaving lotion and washed his hair with bar soap.  But the one thing he never did was use deodorant.  He said it clogged the pores and wasn’t healthy for you.  So, on those occasions where it got a little warm outside or we were cooped up in a warm car, that scent of dad sweat would permeate the area.  And that is what I was smelling today.

Maybe it’s an old man thing.  I mean, like a REALLY old man thing.  Only because I consider myself to be older but not REALLY old.  It makes you wonder when using deodorant became a thing and maybe these old guys just weren’t used to it or willing to change.  Maybe they thought bar soap and Aqua Velva was enough.  It’s not, but I don’t know.  Maybe woman thought the scent was manly and attractive.  Nah.

So as I’m observing this gentleman, I’m taken back to my childhood with my dad. And while it might not have been the most pleasant smelling of memories, it did put a smile on my face today.  So, while I missed my traveling companion, I had the opportunity to be transported back in time by the good old smell of dad sweat. : )