u/ShirtSpecial3623

I know that that is rephrasing of "smell the roses" idiom which means "enjoy little things". What did G-Man wanted to say when changed roses to ashes? "Enjoy memories of good old days that are gone" ? Or he said it literally as if the air is polluted as if there are ashes in it?

I am not native English speaker so I'd like to know how native English speakers understand that line

There's a coworker at my job who never did any harm to me, nor insulted me, nor gossiped about me. He helped me do my job. He also showed me how to get to home and to work via city train (not subway). The road design in my city is pretty messed up, so riding the train is really comfortable.

However, the more I spoke with him, the stronger my feelings of annoyance and irritation with him grew. I avoid him outside of work. I declined every suggestion of his to play video games together. When he asked which gym I go to, I told him the wrong gym. We both get to work and to our homes by city train, so if he sits in the middle carriage, I sit either in the first or the last one.

My issues with him are that he speaks slowly, he curses a lot (and it's always out of place), and his jokes are bad. I feel like I'm a hypocrite considering all the good things he's done. Should I soften toward him, or should I ignore him?