I have a bottle of cologne here that I’ve had since Christmas of 1999. “Whitewater” from Old Spice. I just saw it sitting here on my desk (I’m home in Ukiah for a couple of days), and I took off the cap and sniffed its scent.

It’s true what they say about the sense of smell being tied very closely to memory. One whiff of a scent can send you years back in time. I just had that experience. I remember Jessica, my first girlfriend. My first high school dance. Even the shirt I bought for the occasion. The atmosphere of the darkened campus as I went in.

I remember the way Jessica would swoon when I wore this cologne. It was her favorite. We would meet after second period in the gym lobby (I had second period PE, she third) and she would hug me and smile and sometimes I would wear this cologne and she would tell me how nice it smelled.

Those days seem so far away sometimes, but when I hold this bottle in my hand and breathe in, it seems like just yesterday I was discovering what it was like to be in love for the very first time in my life. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and re-live it all again. All the painful moments of those four years I spent in Ukiah would be worth re-living just to also experience those few special moments I had in between.