Conrad Zero recently posted about an experiance he had being assaulted by excessive perfum in a public place.

I know how he feels.  I experiance this every time I go to see a play at the Guthrie.  What is it about high culture that makes women want to smell like street-walkers?

Of course, it happens a lot in churches, too.

And at the gym.

By the end of the very moving performance of "Egardo Mine", my eyes were watering, my nose was running, and I could barely breath.  I mentioned out loud (during the intermission) that I was having a reaction to someone's perfume.  Rocky was mortified, because I would make someone pissed off.

I didn't mean to piss people off.  I just wanted to make it clear to everyone that I had NOT, in fact, come to a public venue with a case of the Bubonic Plague or SARS, or avian flu or something.  And I was not to blame if my wheezing, sniffling, coughing and dripping noises ruined their enjoyment of the play.

As we left the theater, the usher for our aisle gave me a radiently tender smile, as if to say she appreciated how moved and affected I obviously was by the performance.

Oh yeah, the acting was good and the story was tremendously told...but I've yet to encounter theater powerful enough to give me and athsma attack.