Hugs of Peppermint

I recently watched a part of the old movie Parent Trap. The movie is about two sisters who didn't know each other or the divorced parent that they did not live with until meeting at camp. They decide to switch places to experience the parent they don't know. When they arrive home from camp, the one sister meets a Grandpa she doesn't know. She hugs him and doesn't move away after the hug. Instead, she smells his jacket and snuggles his coat. He wonders why she is hanging on so long and she tells him that she wants to save a memory; a memory of the way her Grandpa smells. He quips that it is peppermint and tobacco; peppermint for digestion and tobacco to aggravate Grandma.

This is a good example of showing, not telling. In writing this story, it would be less effective to say, "I remember my Grandpa always smelled of peppermint and tobacco." To show how it was experienced in a daily-way is more effective. The reader or viewer feels the emotional connection between the two. Grandpa's statement continues the story of why he smells of peppermint and tobacco. A hug experienced between two, turns into its own miniature story.