Olfactory Removal

Nostalgia…..Rulz….&….Bites

Nostalgia is truly a double-edged sword. With every smile it brings, it can also bring a tear. Tonight I hung out with one of my good friends Ed. Ed is huge. He is 6’8 and tons of fun. He is also a bartender in downtown Orlando, so he is very well connected. I spoke with him earlier in the day and we decided to get together. I had not really hug out with him since I got back in December.

Being a friend of a bartender has its perks, let me tell you. Ed gets much love from all the local ladies and the bartenders….SWEET!!! I wish I was still a lush because we did not have to pay for anything tonight. In my younger days, I would be sleeping on someone couch instead of typing at 2am…I kept it lo-key and had a beer & a red bull… to keep me awake.

Ed is a dear friend from high school. Just being around him makes me glad that I moved back home. I always envisioned myself being around the people I grew up with. In Cali I never felt as close to the people as I do in Fl. The people here just know me inside and out. Ed and I discussed the upcoming wedding for are friend Lou this weekend and the drunken debauchery that will follow with the old crew. A good portion of my high school click the “Mail Men” will be in attendance as one of our founding fathers is being tied in holy matrimony. Ed and I joked about funny stories of the past and how many drinks it would take before they all came out!! This was good nostalgia.

As we bar hopped around downtown, I was amazed at Ed’s treatment. He was not “rockstar” status, but he has the “Norm” from cheers appeal. Before he would sit down, a cold bud light would be waiting for him. Each of the 4 places we visited tonight had some form of live music playing. The last two places had guys with guitars playing solo covers. Downtown Orlando is not 6th street Austin…but it has it’s moments.

In the movie “Someone Like You”, Ashley Judd plays a jaded ex who goes through extremes in order to get over a former boyfriend. In one scene she goes to a doctor to have a gland (olfactory) in her nose removed just to avoid smelling the cologne of her ex. The sent drove her crazy and made the hurt worse. Ashley, I’m feelin you!! (btw, I love AJ…any woman that passionate about college basketball is a hottie in my book)
I do not want to get my olfactory removed, but maybe my eardrums. The most important sense to me is hearing. It is so important that I am able to listen to music that I wonder what would happen if I ever went deaf. As I child I would often get horrible ear aches/infections and be unable sleep until the wax was drained out. As I got older my hearing got tremendously better and I able to establish what is called “relative pitch”. (A music thing that can be important for band nerds like me!!) As I listen to music, certain chord progressions or key changes can instantly remind me of an overture once played. This can be an awesome gift as music is one of my greatest passions. This can also be a tremendous burden as tonight in the last two bars, songs were played that reminded me of a former girlfriend. Instantly I became silent and withdrawn from the world around me. Even though the relationships is now over, my overall feelings were taken back to a time when I was extremely happy…that consequently made me sad…go figure!! Although I am to blame for my current situation, which almost makes it worse, I tried to find the silver lining in this cloud… I do know this, for every unhappy memory; there is a wonderful one that brightens my day. Though the pain of lost love sting lingers, the fulfillment of true passion I once attained can be a soothing symphony.

Nostalgia can be such a paradox.