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PUTTING IN MY TWO "SCENTS" 4 August 2005 When I go to review a show, I am given a reviewer's packet which, in the case of Sacramento's Music Circus, consists of a slick folder which contains information on the show I am about to see and advertisements about upcoming productions, as well as the next season for the Music Circus' winter program, The Broadway Series. The folder usually sits under my chair during the performance, since if I hold it in my lap it is almost certain to drop to the floor at a most inopportune time, me being the klutz that I am. However, last night I was very happy to have the folder in my lap, because by halfway through the production, I discovered that I was holding it up to my face, and burying my nose in it, breathing deeply the pleasant smell of freshly published paper. I was using the folder much the way that people of prior eras used perfume soaked handkerchiefs, waved in front of their faces, to mask the unpleasant odors of a society without good sanitation, where the slop bucket was tossed out into the street in the morning. There was no human waste or rotting garbage in the theatre, of course, but the man sitting in front of me had liberally doused himself in aftershave and before the show had progressed too far, I found I was getting a headache from the heavy smell of his perfume. Having the folder to sniff helped considerably. I don't wear scents myself. I used to until I began to realize that there are a lot of people out there who are allergic to them, or who may not like the same scent that I do. I remember back when we were preparing for Gilbert's memorial and the daughter of a famous composer, whose work Gilbert had presented a year before, came to pay her respects. Georgio was all the rage at that time. It was a scent I didn't particularly like and this woman appeared to have bathed in it. She literally floated into the house on a cloud of Georgio. There are those who apparently live their life by my father's rule. Whenever he was cooking, which he liked to do from time to time, if he found an ingredient that was good in a particular dish, he figured that if he used a lot of it, it would make the dish even better. That doesn't really work with food, and it definitely doesn't work with perfume or aftershave. Less is decidedly preferable to more. Fortunately, (some) women seem to have learned that the best way to wear perfume is to spray it into the air and then walk through the cloud, thus leaving a hint of fragrance, without the overpowering smell lingering on your body. Or at least that's what I hear the experts say on the talk shows. I have been guilty in my day of probably overpowering with scent. I thought that the way you were supposed to wear perfume was to dab behind the ears, on the wrists, and behind the knees, thus leaving the perfumy smell from top to bottom. But I now know that this is the way you end up with these lung-choking blasts of scent. I don't know what is the appropriate, non-offensive way to put on men's after-shave lotion, but whatever it is, the guy in front of me did NOT follow that recommendation. It was a great relief when he did not return after intermission. Of course I suppose that being over-doused on sweet smelling substances is preferable to those who neither bathe nor have learned the proper use of deodorants, but in some cases, it's a tough call! Petey is such a sweet little dog. He has settled in quite well, now wags his tail just like a normal dog and most of the time does not walk around here looking like he's afraid I'm going to beat him up at the drop of a hat. He even has begun playing with Sheila. He seems to still be learning how two dogs play with one another, but he'll get there very soon. Of course, he has taken over my recliner, which, if he were going to be staying here indefinitely, we'd have discussions about, but I am trying to make him feel unthreatened, so I'm just as happy to let him sleep in the chair. Last night he looked so comfortable that I didn't even crate him when I went to sleep--and I slept in one of the other recliners. Some of the photos I've taken of him have appeared on the Internet on the SPCA's page for
pets available for adoption and Ashley has already had an inquiry about him. He's
going to be a wonderful little dog for somebody. He's a great size, and each day he
seems to relax a little more and become a regular "dog." |
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Created 7/31/05