Yesterday, ATC had a story about “The smells of your Alma Mater“. I should send them an email; however, this also makes a fantastic blog post. Thanks NPR!
My college, Beloit, is beautiful. We have plenty of green space, wonderfully tended trees and a view of the Rock River. Depending on the view, it’s either beautiful or disgusting, but the river is there. In the fall, one could stand inbetween the ’64 Dorms and see an amazing display of Fall Color. We also have Indian Burial Mounds, gorgeous brick buildings and a poetry garden. Oh, and a gazebo.
All in all, the campus is beautiful. It smells terrible.
The Hormel Chili Factory is downwind from the campus.
The smell is nauseating. It’s a combination of meat, beans and cheese. Cheap, processed and nearly spoiled cheese. I don’t need to buy an Eau de Beloit. I can simply smear Hormel chili behind my ears. While I miss Beloit, and my college friends, terribly, I will not refresh my memories by inhaling Hormel Chili. Some memories are better left in the can.
I went to college at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. JMU has a pretty enough campus, and the Shenendoah Valley of Virginia is beyond beautiful.
Harrisonburg is, unfortunately, the poultry center of Virginia. Which means that the town is surrounded by (and contains) huge turkey farms and turkey processing plants. I’ll let your imagination handle what a turkey slaughter plant must smell like, wafting through a dormitory window when the wind’s blowing just right.
I’d rather smell the chili, kthx.
I went to Baylor, which is actually pretty far removed from major sources of ick and/or pollution. In fact, 80% of the time, the campus there smells like trees and grass (unless they’re re-tarring a roof) and is extremely pleasant.
The other 20% of the time is a month in the spring and a month in the fall when FLOCKS of blackbirds and starlings and who knows what other kinds of annoying birds migrate through Waco. They camp in the trees. The entire campus smells like bird shit. They actually have to power wash the sidewalks daily because of all the bird shit.
Otherwise it’s nice…
I actually kinda miss the dead cheese smell a little bit. And I really miss the giant Hormel can you can see from the interstate.
Okay, so now everytime I visit your site “hormel chili factory, beloit” automatically gets entered into my Google search box. What’s the deal, you shilling for Hormel? Will I never escape the Cheese Breeze?