We’re Almost There!

Reader Contribution by Connie Moore
Published on October 6, 2016
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“Are we there yet?”

Who hasn’t asked that question? Excitement when we travel brings the question to children (and some of us anxious adults). Perhaps the answer was:

“When we cross that old rickety wooden bridge, we’re almost there.” Or “When you see the big, blue water tower …” or “When you hear Grandpa’s dogs barking …” As our parents quieted our squirming and poking each other in the back seat, they unknowingly began an intrinsic part of our training as voyagers with their answers, and we began to absorb points of “almost there.”

Sometimes, a familiar smell signaled how far along we were in our travels. When I was little, our family made regular trips to Springfield to shop and, once in a while, take in a movie. For us, crowded sidewalks and window displays were an adventure. We knew we were close to it all by the fresh-baked-bread scent wafting from Schaeffer’s wholesale bakery on the west end of town.

My friend, Marilyne, relates to that kind of “almost there.” A paper mill close to Portsmouth, Ohio, sent wet-paper/bleach-scented air over the bridge and river that she crossed on the way to her grandfather’s house in Kentucky. July or August heat only served to produce a more pungent grade of “paper perfume.” When they smelled it, she and her siblings knew they would soon see the house, Grandpa, and all those special aunts, uncles, and cousins.

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