Paul Lester Photo

Georgetown, SC is just up the road a little way from Charleston, about 90 minutes or so. This weekend, I was in Georgetown. Initially, I thought that this was the first time that I’d been there, but when I got there, started walking around the historic boardwalk, I had a distinct feeling of familiarity. I discounted it almost immediately because I was pretty sure that I hadn’t been there. I would have remembered it, right?

After walking around a bit, looking at the water, the surrounding area, and a bit of people watching, the wind shifted slightly and I caught a whiff of the paper mill. Instantly, my memory was triggered and I remembered when I had been here before. It was a number of years ago during a basketball tournament with Tony. We played in a gym that was right down the street from the paper mill, owned by International Paper, and that smell lingered in the gym all day. We never got used to it. I was but a few blocks from that location. Now, there’s one smell that you never forget or misidentify – that tangy, sour smell of a paper mill. I’ve been in 3 cities having those mills: Georgetown, SC, Charleston, SC, and Houston, TX!

Fortunately, the wind shifted again and blew that smell in another direction – the rest of the day was quite pleasant!