What are you afraid of?

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My self-appointed task this past weekend was to clean out the 3-4" of dirt and leaves that had accumulated in the basement window wells. The previous owners had built wooden covers for them but they blocked out all the light. I wanted to clean out the window wells, clean the windows, and install clear plastic covers so we could get more natural light down in the basement.

Saturday Keith was away at a friend's house so I was on my own. I got out the leaf vacuum and started on the first window well. It was pretty nasty. I had most of the leaves sucked out and then realized that what I thought were sticks were actually snakes! I dropped the vacuum and ran to the front of the house, screaming like a little girl the entire way! It's a good thing the neighbors weren't home or else they would have thought a murder was happening.

I called Keith and asked him if it would be possible to accidentally suck up a snake with the leaf vacuum. He said that the vacuum mower would probably grind up the snake and make a terrible mess, but if I thought that I had sucked one up that I should just unzip the bag and lay it on the grass so the snake could crawl out. So I went in the house and got a coat hanger, and hooked the hook on the hanger through the pull on the zipper so I could open the bag from arms length, the whole time doing the "scared little girl about to pee her pants" dance. Then I picked up the bag, shook the leaves out, and ran away. After about half an hour I went back to pick up the bag and put it away, the whole time clapping my hands and shouting "snakes get out of the bag and go away because I'm coming back there!" (snakes hate it when you clap your hands and shout, don't they?)

Now I know that as a Pagan I'm supposed to be in touch with the earth and all that stuff, but I draw the line at snakes! Now here's the funny part: I can go to the reptile house at the zoo and pet the big pythons with no problem. But those little fast wild garter snakes that pop up when you don't expect them, uuugggghhhhh!

Sunday our buddy Jason came up to help Keith with the framing in the basement and I told him about being afraid to finish cleaning out the window wells because there were snakes in them. He said that he would check to see if they were gone. Since in my screaming fit yesterday I neglected to put the wooden cover back over the window there was now enough light coming in that you could see into the window well from inside the basement. Jason pulls the ladder up to the window and looks out, and tells me that there are two snakes crawling along the outside of the window looking for a way to get in. I screamed and ran upstairs! I told Jason to tell me that the snakes weren't really looking for a way in (even though they were) because if I didn't get that thought out of my head I would be afraid to go back down in the basement (there were snakes in the basement of our church when I was growing up and to this day I'm afraid to go down there). So brave Jason took a bucket and a crowbar outside and relocated the snakes to down by the pond. He also checked the other two window wells to make sure they were snake-free. (They were snake-free but each one did have a large salamander. Salamanders are ok because they move slow and have legs.)

My other unreasonable fear is balloons, but that's another story....

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2003

Answers

Balloons eh? You gotta tell us that one!

That's a great and funny story, Sherri, and you did exactly what I would have done!

I had a good sized garter snake who lived in my garden on the farm, and I used to loudly say similar things to it every time I went out there! I think the snake thing is because they startle us, don't you? But they are just creepy, although I appreciate their value in nature, I always hope they are enjoying themselves without making themselves visible to me!

At least they're just garter snakes though; I remember once when we were living in LA two HUGE king snakes, which look almost exactly like rattlers, got into our garage, and we chased them around the perimeter of the garage for about a half an hour before they found their way out. Didn't want to kill em cuz they're great rodent control, but sheesh! Not in my garage.

My worst thing though is maggots, and large numbers of wormy things. (earthworms don't affect me this way). When I was a little girl we had a plague of army worms one year, and I remember vividly (shuddering now at the memory) them dropping off the trees as we walked underneath, and finding them on our clothes even after going into the house, and running to the toilet to shake them off. It was gross!

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2003


I don't know, Sherri, but I really can't relate to the idea of being afraid of snakes! Sorry!!! When I'm strolling across my pasture and I see a snake dart out in front of me...whether it's a garter, milk or black snake...my first instinct is to try and catch it. Of course, when I do catch it, the first thing it does is "pee" on me (or give off that obnoxious smell!). I'm actually more afraid of yellow jackets or wasps! I LOVE to aggravate them...then I run like hell when they come looking for me :-)!!! I tend to even pursue a skunk or porcupine as close as I can without getting "caught"!! Is that stoopid or what :-)!

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2003

Ok Marcia, you're weird! ;)

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2003

Ya I know, E.M. Harry tells me that I'm teaching Morgan bad habits! She gets the biggest kick out of watching me chase down a snake or trying to pounce on a hopping frog :-)! Not a pretty sight!!! Lately we've been catching tons of praying mantises (sp?). We feed them houseflies...then release them. Fascinating way to pass the time in the country :-)!

-- Anonymous, October 14, 2003

BTW...I AM afraid of heights!!!

-- Anonymous, October 14, 2003


Hey, Marcia! I'm with you. I'm always catching snakes, frogs, bugs, etc. for the kids. I'm not too crazy about praying mantis since one got hold of my hand and scratched me up good. I'm kind of leary about handling those now.

I guess I'm scared of animals I perceive as more powerful than myself like a bear or a mountain lion.

I'm most scared of those animals called people. LOL! I always keep them at a distance. you just never know what they're going to do or when they'll turn on you! LOL!

-- Anonymous, October 14, 2003


My #1 fear is that someone will hurt Jessie; most any other fear I can usually manage to talk myself out of. I'm not real fond of storms, especially wind storms, but I can go down basement and count the canning jars or something until the storm passes over. I don't care much for heights either; but I've only "frozen" one time - Pop and I were tearing shingles off the roof of the old house and I slipped, catching myself right before the gutter. Poor Pop had to take me by the hand and lead me around to the side of the house with a porch. A few weeks later, I was back up on the roof, holding on to a rope to help take the TV antenna down.

Snakes, I don't mind so much; nor rodents, nor bugs. I don't care to be in an enclosed space with a bee/hornet/wasp, but that's because I have a respiratory reaction if I get stung close to the face/neck area - anywhere else it just swells. I can deal with them just fine if I'm in a veil and thick clothing.

As for other critters; well, I'm respectful of the neighbor's mean dogs, but I'm not frightened of dogs in general. I don't think there's a thing wrong with being aware of danger - that's not quite the same as scared.

-- Anonymous, October 14, 2003


Oh Sherri, you had me rolling. I started snorting here I was laughing so hard...

Glenn is like that with snakes. He moved a board and I'm attacking the termites and he's running away yelling, "That was a snake!!!" He's been good though. Comes and gets me to get rid of snakes now since I told him it wasn't good that he killed a black rat snake (he thinks all snakes are copperheads)

I am afraid of heights. When we go to a waterpark, I will go on the rides only when there isn't a long line because if I have to wait, I start to panic. I also cannot climb stairs with spaces where you can see through that is high. AND I cannot go down steep stairs unless someone is in front of me. I once grabbed hold of a tour guide on one of my son's field trips because the stairs got too high and steep. She was really good about it, surprised but good.

Speaking of snakes, I was going to work one day and was stopped in the parking lot by an employee of Eckarts(sp), which is the store next door to our pet store. She asked when someone was coming because there was a snake in the store. I said I would be right over and got stuff, not knowing if it was one of ours (they sometimes get loose - have one loose now come to think of it)or a wild one. Anyway, I go over and they are saying "it's over there" Well, of course they know where it is but I can't see it so I walk until they tell me to stop and look down. It was one of ours and stiff from being cold. I reach down and pick it up, to the screams of the women employees, "She's picking it up with her hands!" Then they didn't want to go near the door to let me out. I always get a kick out of that one from when I was in animal control. Come to think about it, they were also good about it. They could have made a stink but didn't. They mentioned to someone once that there was a snake living in their storage room but it kept mice down so they didn't bother with it. Go figure.

-- Anonymous, October 14, 2003


I have to admit I dislike snakes but I'm so afraid of rats(or even mice) It's so funny afterwards but if I see a rat I scream, cry like a big ol'baby and start running!!! One of my crazy cousins knows how scared I am over them set one on the floor and video taped me when I came in!! Boy was that not funny!!! Well till I watched the tape!!!

This all started when I was in the 9th grade we went on vacation came back and 2 rats got in our house by the way of a whole in my room. Well I was in my room, door closed and they both came running at me,scared the h*ll out of me. My father took everything out of my room shook every item of clothing and I still wouldn't sleep in there for over 2 weeks.I sleep on the sofa. Till I finally could see they were not in my room anymore. There is still to this day a glue rat trap in my old bedroom at my parents!!!!LOL

Sandy

-- Anonymous, October 15, 2003


Snakes, "scrooch " owls in the cab of my pick up (long story) marriage (sad story) and since seeing the Austin Powers movies, femmebots and Swedish made penis enlargers....baaaaaaby ( wierd dream story) :>)

-- Anonymous, October 15, 2003


Do we want to ask? Do we, do we?!

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2003

Polly...I think we should put Jay on the "hot seat" and make him give us more details about that post :-)!!!

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2003

I dunno, Marcia; maybe we ought to watch the Austin Powers movies first - we may not WANT to know!

Altho - I'm not sure I want to know bad enough to watch Austin Powers, either. Maybe I can just ask Jes. Hmmm - then again, maybe not!

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2003


Hmmm...maybe you're right, Polly!!

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2003

Perhaps you should make a distinction between rational and irrational fears. Irrational make me think of a friend who would scream, jump, and run away from nearly any bug at all. Even butterflies and lady bugs (this was before the proliferation of the biting Asian lady beetles). She wasn't afraid of ants (if there were just a few) nor of mosquitos, and that was it. I'm only 'afraid' of hornets and yellow jackets when they're mad.

Never seen a rat (other than domesticated ones), don't know what I would do. I think the startle factor is part of it -- something scuttles by and it startles you and you jump (and sometimes scream - LOL!). I confess, snakes creep me out a lot of times, despite having picked them up and carried them around when I was a kid. The only poisonous snakes I've ever seen were in a herp exhibit at a zoo, and they STILL creeped me out more than non-poisonous ones. Numbers make a difference too -- if what I thought was several or numerous sticks suddently turned out to be snakes, I would have been running too, Sherri -- maybe even have let out a bit of a yell. But I would have gone back and gotten them out myself. Despite the way they give me goosebumps.

They're really neat and icky, all at the same time. Don't want any around for fear of dog or cat encounters with them -- don't want the snake hurt, don't want to deal with having to stop my critter from doing the hurting. Snakes stay away! ;-)

And yeah, huge invasions of worms is nasty too. Where a few faze me not at all, large numbers give me the creeps. Julie had a worm bin that I was trying to tend when she was so sick a few years back. I opened the lid and discovered them on the underside of the lid, in a huge ball, writhing like animated hamburger! Really gross. Those were the weirdest worms I ever saw. Wouldn't stay in any container -- I've posted about them here previously. Worms dropping on me from the trees would creep me out too. Years like that would be a good time to have chickens or ducks!

Spiders don't bother me (though if I saw a black widow I'd be running the other way!), but Julie is just majorly creeped out by them. I tend to capture them and toss them outside.

I both am and am not afraid of heights. If it's somewhere I don't feel like I can fall off easily, I am not bothered. The Arch in St. Louis bothers me not at all, even when you can feel it swaying in the wind. The cramped little stuffy cars that you have to ride up in are worse (the stuffy part bothered me the most). Airplanes don't bother me usually either, although I am more apprehensive about take-off and landing than I used to be. Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems like the pilots have gotten worse! But then there was the time I was on a JUMBO jet -- this HUGE plane and it set down very gently and quietly. Too bad they can't all be like that!

I don't like steps without risers either, unless they're just a few of them. If the stairs are high enough out in the open, even WITH risers, it bothers me. I can conquer the fear though. I think it has something to do with visual perception -- it looks like you're close to falling off, so the fear kicks in. I don't like ladders of more than a few feet, and the more they wiggle or sway, the less I like them. Firmly bolted in place is not so bad! I've had nightmares where I am suddenly on a narrow ledge high on a cliff on the side of a mountain with no room to turn around and go to safety. There's usually a safe way down, if I can just get to it -- sometimes I do, sometimes I fall -- so far I've always woken up with a start rather than dying in my sleep! :-/

Almost everything that I 'fear' can be conquered -- if I have the time to stop and think about it and make the effort. But if I'm startled, the first impulse is to take off running! ;-)

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2003



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