Thursday, December 20, 2007

Smells

Cool, drippy (mid-30s)

Today I was given the very exciting task of walking around camp to inventory paper towel dispensers. I know, it’s a glamorous job. But all sarcasm aside, it’s the kind of thing I really enjoy: I made a list (I love lists), and I put it on a clipboard, and I just walked around camp, taking stock of things, paper towel and otherwise. It was a beautiful day, alternating tiny bits of sun with really dark about-to-rain skies, and I tramped through lots of puddles and muddy trails to get around.

One thing I noticed, as I strolled from building to building, was the smells. I swear the smells at this camp are stronger than anywhere else, and each building has its own unique set of nasal mysteries. I’m not going to sugar-coat this; these aren’t all good smells. In fact, most of them aren’t good. They’re just distinct, and that’s what I find so fascinating.
  • Slanty smells like bacon.
  • Guards, today, smelled like poop. It smelled so strong I could barely stand to be in there. The whole building was like a giant fart cloud. When I came back with Carlo a few hours later to check it out, it had ceased to smell. I blame sewer gas.
  • Cooks’ Cabin smells like this air freshener that’s been plugged into the bathroom wall for a few years. It smells nice, and clean, despite the fact that you don’t want to like those junky air freshener things.
  • HOH smells like stale plastic, guano, and antiseptic. Of all the building smells, I think this is my least favorite.
  • The walk-in cooler has an acrid, unpleasant smell, as if the chemicals are off and have been for twenty years.
  • The Stink Shack smells almost purely of rat pee and poo, mixed with a few hazardous chemicals.
  • A-Frame smells of human pee, and also of old plastic-y building materials that can’t be good for you.
  • Ginny’s has a strong smell of appliances.
And that’s today’s report. Sorry it’s not more fascinating; I’m coming down with a cold (ah, the irony of writing about smells) and my mind is full of mucus.

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