I remember when my sister was a baby I used to eat the gerber Bananas baby food. I loved banana baby food. Baby food has a very distinctive smell. Eric hates it. Something in my ovaries makes me like it. Do you eat baby food?

The smell of baby food to me, though, reminds me of sick animals. Whenever we found a kitten or a baby bird, and now my dear Lillith-- all get the warm baby food on the finger treatment.

Are there smells that remind of you completely unrelated events?

-- Anonymous, August 05, 1999

Answers

School. You just can't forget that "school" smell. Sometimes as I'm walking down the hallway at work, I'll just stop and... there it is, the special kid/chalk/waxy floor smell. Suddenly I'm 10 years old dreading a test on dividing fractions.

I love the way jarred baby fruit and veggies smell (the meat is awful). Same with baby powder, baby lotion, even diaper rash cream. It triggers something in my ovaries, in my uterus, in my heart. Oh, god, I'm not ready for that so I'm changing the subject. I used to have a great banana bread recipe that called for baby food bananas. It was so good! I lost that recipe during a move though, oh well.

-- Anonymous, August 05, 1999

I love Gerber Blueberry Buckle. When I was young, my mother used to give it to me when I was sick and now it's my favorite "comfort food".

-- Anonymous, August 05, 1999

I love the peach cobbler!!! I am 20 years old and I will be the first in line to buy a huge stock if they're ever going to discontinue it!

-- Anonymous, August 05, 1999

I like the custard pudding baby food. My mom bought it for me and my little sister. The smell of Johnson and Johnson's baby soap makes me think of my little brother and how he looked lying in his baby bathtub, all soaped up. I am homesick now.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 1999

I used to always associate the baby food meat sticks (as disgusting as they sound) smell with this creepy kid in kindergarten who had a Kung-Fu lunchbox, so then I sort of associated that smell with David Carradine. In high school I found out my girlfriend harbored a terrible secret- she was addicted to the dreaded meat sticks (I mean the baby food). I think that was the end of our relationship. Now I date a vegetarian.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 1999