Posted on 05/30/2006 6:39:34 PM PDT by fanfan
I presume — but could be wrong — that city Coun. Alex Cullen wears deodorant, maybe even aftershave, maybe even cologne, but he’s scaring me.
If Cullen gets his way, watch out for signs on the outside walls of all city buildings saying: “No Smelling Nice Within Five Metres of Building.” And: “B.O. Preferred and Acceptable Inside.”
Cullen’s giving voice to the city’s latest MAJOR MUST-TACKLE ISSUE that keeps city taxpayers awake all night, fretting. People who use deodorants, perfumes, colognes, aftershaves, and sundry sweet-smelling scents: Council is going to debate whether the fragrances should be banned from city facilities including OC and Para Transpo buses, and light rail, due to the massive health crisis of citizens allergic to the things that make people smell nice.
It must be really terrible because the Sun’s Derek Puddicombe quotes Cullen as saying there are people “who become disabled because of these fragrances.”
Disabled? You’re kidding. When I hear the word “disabled” I envision twisted ankles and broken arms and other bodily impairments. I honestly did not know that among those people I’ve seen staggering out of bars, their legs not working, were some, maybe a lot, who weren’t the victims of too many bottles of Molson Ex, but too many inhalations of Drakkar Noir.
From now on when I hear an ambulance siren, I’ll be thinking it could be someone felled in the street or on a bus by one whiff too many of Old Spice, Mennen Speed Stick, Shalamar or Stetson.
Nose struck gold
As my civic duty, I went to city hall and — at great potential risk to my health — set my nose loose, imagining the building must be a cauldron of the sweet smells that have Cullen and Co. so ready to take action. People were coming in and out of the foyer, some milling about, and I walked around, sniffing, and didn’t smell anything sweet, and I sniffed harder, and still didn’t.
It wasn’t until I went into the small cafe off the foyer and ordered a coffee and sat down that my nose struck gold.
Well, I don’t know if gold is the right word. My nose picked up from a guy at the next table the strong, indisputable scent of underarm B.O.
You want to talk about developing an allergy to a scent? ARRRRRGH. I think I prefer the scents of Drakkar Noir, Old Spice, Mennen Speed Stick, Shalamar, and Stetson. I think I’d rather work in a building or be on a bus where people favour sweet-smelling scents to the natural fragrances of smelly armpits or smelly feet.
I think I’d like to tell Cullen and Co. — and all the anti-scent crusaders who are allergic to that which makes the human body smell nice — too bad, tough, I sympathize, but you must pay this price for the populace not evolving into the reek of decaying rodents.
I spoke to Harold and Lynne Trottier on the sidewalk outside city hall.
‘Ridiculous’
They’d been in to discuss a water bill. He’s 68, she’s 64.
“For God’s sake, is that what we pay them to do?” asked Lynne. “It’s ridiculous. There’s no way I’m going to stop wearing perfume on city properties. Even if I worked in one. I used to take the bus, and eccch, there were some awfully stinky people who needed a dose of perfume or cologne.”“
Harold: “The thing is, the human body smells. That’s why we take baths and showers.”
Lynne: “It’s why they invented soap.”
Harold: “Some people need a lot of cologne or deodorant or what have you. They need more than other people because, the way they’re made, they just have a tendency to smell more. They can’t help it. So, how’s the city going to arbitrarily decide what’s the right amount of scents to wear and what isn’t? They talk about educating the public first. They’re the ones who need an education in common sense.”
He caught the irony: “S-e-n-s-e,” he spelled.
Lynne: “I suppose the city will also ban flowers in all its parks? After all, there are people who are allergic to certain flowers that smell nice.”
Five years ago, OC Transpo buses had signs saying: Busology No. 11. Parfumus Overloadus. When working on your presentability, please use your scents with sensibility. Accompanied by a photo of a guy with a clothespin on his nose, making a face. Some buses still have the signs.
In this age of body piercings and tattoos, I suggest decorative, designer, nose clothespins for Cullen and Co. and all the anti-scent crusaders.
Letters to the editor should be sent to feedback@ott.sunpub.com.
I just wear my masks. I have reached the point of "Let'em stare!" and laugh about it.
And it may have a good effect on some people. It's a witness to what it is worth being there, I think.
I thank God that I stumbled onto the fact that I could mask and still get to services. I thought I was going to have to stop going for awhile, but I would hate that.
It did make me quit daily mass for awhile, because I still am being very cautious about how often I let myself get exposed to that type of concentration. But with the new church building, once the newness outgasses, I think I will be OK.
And the 3m Carbon R95 masks work extremely well. I just wish they weren't so hot. But they are latex free. They fit my big head a little more snuggly than I like. I'm thinking about buying a "I Can Breathe" brand honeycomb charcoal filter mask - it's made for asthmatics and highly allergic people.
I am thinking about putting a felt smile on it, though...
Natural asthma field-expedient rescue treatment. Hot, black coffee.
It's amazing how quickly it helps and how soothing coffee is...but I do cheat with sugar and creamer...but if i didn't have it, I would surely take it black.
Of course, it also neutralizes the acid stomach, so pick your poison. ;)
Hasn't seemed to hurt the help the coffee gives me...I don't use milk, I use artificial creamer and that might be the difference. Milk would probably make it worse. You never really want to drink milk when you have a lot of coughing problems, no matter what the source. Talk about adding fuel to the fire.
But I am lactose intolerant, so I tend to avoid milk.
It seems that whatever this chemical is, is what a lot of folks are allergic to.
It seems to be toxic to about 10% of the population (migranes, asthma, etc.)
I might support banning that carrier chemical.
The author's ignorance of the effects of allergies, and laziness in failing to do his job and acquire that information, has seriously undercut his legitimate point about government overreach.
It's been my experience in the workplace that women who smoke wear a) the heaviest, most nasally oppressive kinds of perfume (say, Shalimar or White Shoulders) and b) far too much of it.
Chicken is what people order when they don't know what they want to eat.
My mother made us beef liver once.
Once.
The three of us (and Dad) were anything but picky, but something about that nasty slab of gleaming meat put us off. Maybe the fact that it was shiny, or perhaps the metallic taste . . . at any rate, it was hideous and she never tried that on us again.
I hope you don't suddenly develop a sensitivity to scent, like I did last year. I'd noticed that I got headaches more when I was around people who used too much perfume, but then my grandmother got in the car with me and my throat closed up from her perfume. That's a really, really scary thing.
People wearing a little scent don't bother me, fortunately, unless I'm too close to them like in an elevator. Those who drench themselves in stinky crap are going to give me at best a headache, and I don't know if one day it'll be worse than that.
I think you should make several "mouths" out of that velour ribbon that has adhesive on the back, so you can go from gentle smile to maniacal toothy grin to surprised Home Alone face.
One day, I went into my Chiropracter's office. They had a vanilla scented candle burning. Within a few minutes, I began coughing. I could feel my chest tightening. I began to begin to have airway restriction, making it difficult to pull air in.
I dashed outside. Slowly the wheezing eased back. Scared the heck out of me. Panic at the reaction made the reaction worse, too. Trembling and trying to cry, not the best thing to do when your throat is constricting because of a trigger.
I had had this happen in places where paints/lacquer had been used before, but this was the first time I had had this happen with a scented candle.
People who want to talk lightly about this should experience what CAN happen before they talk glibly about it.
It's true it's not a common reaction. But it is not fun nor good and do it enough your lungs get inflamed and then all sorts of things can trigger you, like someone walking by who has smoke on his clothes, or a dry paint tray, or a room where they burned candles three weeks earlier.
I am not talking about restricting stuff - I am only talking that for some of us, it's a real problem, and to talk about it glibly is to not realize how hard it can be.
But today I managed to go sit in a very crowded room at the DMV office to get my car registration renewed, and I didn't trigger. Of course, none of these were freshly groomed, but a woman sat next to me who was wearing scent but my lungs behaved, I didn't have to pull out my masks, and I spent the half hour or so I waited knitting.
Days like that seem like a victory when you've had as much trouble with this as I have had this year.
It also says that that room has good air circulation, I expect...
LOL! I bet I could make my pastor crack up...He sees me and grins as it is!
I think they blame phthalates( sp?) for a lot of it.
I ran into this no-scents problem 15 years ago in San Francisco when I arrived at a meeting and was made to go wash off all my perfume....the women who had a hissy fit when I arrived were all ugly fat lesbians.
There are some few people who are legitimately allergic to perfume and everything else.....they're so sensitive, they usually cannot even leave home. Suggest they stay home and let the rest of us enjoy our Channel.
Free Travis McGee? Did something happen to him? O_o
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