#31 Journal Entry 01.15.2011

I’ve all but completed #438, Enrique the Janitor at the Post Office.  It’s possible that I’ll never get close enough to gather his complete UPS (Unique Personal Scent).  His scent is  heavily dominated by cleaning supplies and I suspect he has personal space issues.  My best chance is to sample an item of his clothing [Note 19922:  Track #438 laundry habits.  Perhaps he uses a local laundromat]

For the first time, I showed my smell collection to someone, #374 to be precise.  She particularly enjoyed Christmas and  the Ball Park.  I let her ride in Mother’s seat in the car.  I felt that Mother would not mind if she sat there.  Marie is unusually amenable to my company, perhaps because of our visit at The Gardens upon her mother’s death.

Our visit was cut short, however, when Marie had an adverse reaction to her own scent.  When I brought it out to show her, she told me that she never wanted to see me again and abruptly exited the house.  My suspicion is that some people, when confronted with their own personal scent, may feel uncomfortable in the way that some people have an aversion to seeing themselves in a photograph.  Perhaps she doesn’t like the way she smells.

I will ask her about it when I see her at the library this week.

She’s the only person, besides Mother, who seems to understand what I do.

I’ve begun a new, very promising profile at the shoe and boot repair shop on Main Street.  Although polish and leather are the overwhelming components, I take it as a challenge to explore the softer undertones of the facility.  I may have to bring in some of Mother’s older shoes to establish a ruse for spending time in the shop.  The owner is behaving suspiciously toward me.