Just like Hawkeye in M*A*S*H, I smell everything, and according to my mother, have done so since I was about 2 that she can remember. I have a very hyper-sensitive nose, meaning that I can often times smell things that others can't, but even though I am this way, smells that might bother others don't bother me dispite the fact that I smell things a bit stronger than others.
There are a few smells that I can think of right off the top of my head that when I smell them today remind me of things, or people. The smell of mothballs always reminds me of my grandmothers upstairs. The smell of Aspine Cologne always reminds me of the first time I had sex, not that that was a good thing, lol.
The same grandmother who had the upstairs that smelled slightly of mothballs had a very old house. In her basement she still used a wringer washer oddly enough, but she also had a coal bin and a fruit celler down there. The basement floor was cement from when I remember it, but my father told me when he grew up it was dirt. That basement had a certain smell, I can't explain it. I liked it actually, and yes, others could smell it too. When my grandma made cookies and bread and she would give them to us to take home, and I know what I am about to say isn't going to make any sense, but I could taste the smell of her basement in the bread and cookies. I would always say, "the bread tastes like the way grandma's basement smells". No one else could taste that, but I could. Which medically speaking, makes perfect sense because your sense of taste and smell are connected, so maybe if my sense of smell is a bit hyper, I'm guessing my sense of taste might be too.
When Doc and I really got serious in our relationship during our last few hours together before I would have to leave, knowing I wouldn't be able to see him for another 2 months, I always would snuggle in real close and smell his neck. When we see each other for the first time after being seperated, and after we kiss and hug each other for a good half hour or so, lol, I also put my nose on his neck and just hold him close and smell. When I first started doing this he asked me what I was doing, and I told him, "I'm smelling your skin." And he asked me what for, so I told him, "I'm making a memory." And that is exactly what I was doing, making a memory.
I often, actually every time we are together I take one of his dirty shirts home so that when I really start missing him and feel like I can't be away from him one second longer, I take out his previously worn shirt and as crazy odd as this sounds, I smell it for a bit. It sort of helps me miss him a little bit less for a while is all. He used to think it was a bit odd too, but he understands now.