You always hear the saying You need to stop and smell the flowers. Where did it come from? What does it mean to you? What does it mean to me?
A couple of weeks ago, I woke up early and took off from the house at 0800 in the morning. I needed to arrive in Little Rock—218 miles away—by 1130 for a meeting with the Brain Injury Alliance of Arkansas head injury support group. Not a problem. But other than a brief bathroom stop, I rushed through the whole thing. Not much sight seeing took place; however, I did dictate a new poem. I rolled into the Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute parking lot at 1115. Plenty of time to casually stroll to the basement conference room.
For the journey back, I decided that I would take it easy. Maybe I would come across something that peaked my interest. Time to smell the flowers. And it started in a flowerbed beside the hospital entrance. I knelt down, phone in hand, and took a closeup picture of this beautiful purple flower. I will have to admit that I didn’t smell it though.
I read an article about Arkansas Highway 123 a couple of months back. The author called it the fifth most dangerous road in America. I love its nickname—The Dragon Tail. They don’t even let big trucks to go over it. Since I drove my wife’s Subaru Crosstrek, I decided today was they day. After living in the state for over half my life, I cannot ever recall having driven the route before. But first, I needed lunch. I actually only had bread and water at the meeting. I stopped at Who Do Thought It restaurant and store.
When the 2024 solar eclipse happened, my wife and I had stopped here to get some gas. The pumps without credit card readers and all the electronics really confuses some people the manager told me. This little place sits on the side of Highway 7 near Luton, Arkansas. I walked in, sat down at the end of one of the tables, and ordered a cheeseburger with lettuce, onions, ketchup, and mayo along with some fries and a large water. While waiting on my food, Gary walked in. I do not know his last name because I have never met the man, but the manager greeted him by name. He asked if they had any plumber’s putty. She pointed to the back of the store behind me, telling him exactly where to find it.
The store has a history. I know this because of the sign on the wall. The current owner has had it since 1949 and has recently leased it out to his cousin. The food was good. It filled me up after having skipped the lunch at the meeting. From there, I headed out to traverse the Dragon Tail road. The course didn’t impress me much for the first twenty minutes. The road twisted and turned through incredible scenery, but nothing to impress me more than the Pig Trail coming up Highway 23 from Ozark to Eureka Springs. Then I hit a series of switchbacks, dropping out of the Boston Mountains toward the Buffalo River valley. Should you ever take this adventure yourself, the recommended speed of 15 miles per hour makes for some good advice. At Piercetown, I turned west on Highway 74 and headed home, arriving well after dark.
I took the time to smell the flowers. And I’m much better for it.
So where does that saying come from, you might ask? I looked it up for you, finding it at https://grammarist.com/idiom/stop-and-smell-the-roses. It reminds people to not rush through life, to take time to enjoy the little things. I had somewhere to be this morning, but my granddaughters both wanted to tell me a story. I was twenty minutes late, and it didn’t matter. The origin of the idiom comes from the book The Walter Hagen Story, authored by the golfer and published in 1956. In it, he says “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” That’s some good advice we should all follow. Too bad I rushed the first 49 years of my life.
Two musicians have also recorded songs titled “Stop and Smell the Roses.” Mac Davis recorded the song in 1974, and it peaked at Number 10 on the charts. The Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr released a song by the same title in 1981.
Have you stopped to smell the flowers lately? It’s well worth it.
