The way to a man's heart

I locked the door and waited for an elevator when a smell of someone's luch hit my nose.

It is funny how a simple smell can evolve imagination and affect feelings. It must have been some thick sauce with beef and probably with dumplings. I stood there and soaked up that smell which not only did make me hungry but also reminded me of the happy times of earlier years. Chatting in the kitchen, asking about seasoners, dishing out, touching hands and saying Enjoy your meal and chatting and eating, blowing out the candle, washing dishes… Such a commonplace for many. I cherish the memories of those commonplace moments. Yes, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, well, one of the ways...

It took only a few seconds, the elevator arrived at the mine level, the door opened which brought me back to reality. But the smell of that thick sauce lingers. I guess, he who has never been in this state of mind can never trully understand what Johnny Cash was singing about in his "Sunday Morning Coming Down".

I'd smoked my mind the night before
With cigarettes and songs I'd been picking.
But I lit my first and watched a small kid
Playing with a can that he was kicking
Then I walked across the street
And caught the Sunday smell of someone's frying chicken.
And Lord, it took me back to something that I'd lost
Somewhere, somehow along the way