Yesterday morning, a walk down Vine Street in Los Angeles took me to France, which made as little sense when it happened as it does writing it down now. But a combination of smells – a recent storm in L.A., some flowers nearby – had me right back, and I knew the memory immediately.
Spring in Paris. Lunchtime, walking next to the Seine on the right bank, elevated slightly above the water. The sky seemed like a blue dome. The booksellers weren’t out, the stalls at waist height were shuttered, but the trees were beginning to bud and green. People in spring jackets, white sneakers, people working or running errands, or going to the movies, or doing nothing. There was a small restaurant where two streets met at a point, a table outside. Screeching motorcycles and rumbling delivery vans, though I don’t remember any music. A side of fries, some kind of sandwich. The table was slatted, we couldn’t fit everything. I remember the bathroom was in the basement, primeval, down a spiral staircase so tightly wound I clutched the railing. Afterward, we walked by the river some more, then went home. It was one of those ordinary days, just a lunch, it made no rhetorical claims, but in my memory everything feels nearby, almost whistling.
In my recollections, Paris often smells wet, semi-floral, even fungal, but is that true? I want to think so. For me, verbal memory is one thing, but other types are quicker and perhaps more accurate, definitely more startling. In this case, to reach that immediacy, all it took was some rain and a bougainvillea to cover the distance, tinge the air, and make me forget where I was.
In tomorrow’s Sunday supplement for supporters: very good new music; camping tips from a famous modernist; and a favorite, albeit grisly wilderness publication.
If you’re not on the supporter train yet, hit the blue button below (there’s a free trial so you can dig into the archives to see if it’s for you).
“Meditations in an Emergency” is a micro-essay published Saturdays by novelist Rosecrans Baldwin about things he finds beautiful, with a longer essay once a month dispatched from the woods.
Also for subscribers: a Sunday supplement with three-plus ideas for things to love, no paid placements lol 💸
Rosecrans is the bestselling author of Everything Now: Lessons From the City-State of Los Angeles, available from Bookshop, Amazon, or your local store. Other books include The Last Kid Left and Paris, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down. His debut novel, You Lost Me There, was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice.
Any other books mentioned in this newsletter are featured on a Bookshop list.