I'm afraid of heights (acrophobia) if I am not in an enclosed space. We went to Grand Canyon as a side trip on one of Bob's research summers and I freaked out big time. I should have guessed, when I was a kid my poor father had to drive the mountain roads on the wrong side of the road so I wouldn't freak out on him...If he had to move back into his lane due to oncoming traffic I would lay on the seat and pray VERY LOUDLY. I guess you could probably extrapolate it further and say I have a fear of falling
:-\
Since you are afraid of heights, are you afraid to fly too Dottie?
My mother had a terrible fear of heights. But she was okay just as long as there was something between her and the drop, such as a wall or railing. So she was comfortable flying because she had a wall between her and the outside. But she hated climbing up step ladders or stairs without railings. In other words, she was more comfortable flying in a plane at 40.000 feet than she was climbing 2 feet up on a step ladder. ???
(http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u136/protopho/Spring%20Break%20in%20Florida/IMG_0504.jpg)
Disgusting little critters. :P
I ticked fear of flying but not fear of heights, but it's not quite true. Well, I do fly of course but I don't like it. I'm ok when the plane is in the air, but I don't like the taking off and the landing. Also I hate hate it when during the flight the plane starts to shake..
j. U. d. E.
I'm afraid of heights (acrophobia) if I am not in an enclosed space. We went to Grand Canyon as a side trip on one of Bob's research summers and I freaked out big time. I should have guessed, when I was a kid my poor father had to drive the mountain roads on the wrong side of the road so I wouldn't freak out on him...If he had to move back into his lane due to oncoming traffic I would lay on the seat and pray VERY LOUDLY. I guess you could probably extrapolate it further and say I have a fear of falling
:-\
This is a picture of Ronald McDonald through the years. The black and white picture at the bottom is Ronald McDonald from back in 1963.
Now I think I understand where my fear of clowns came from. >:(
(http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j43/Davidindy/RonaldMcDonald.jpg)
I also have a fear of being alone, although I wouldn't consider it chronic or serious. I just don't like it. I'm not too crazy about storms either; especially thunderstorms. :P
I choose four. Heights, crowds, animals (spiders), and shot/injections.
I ticked flying and animal (spiders). I'm pretty much OK with just about anything life throws in my direction. Except for flying and spiders. I have a morbid, irrational fear of both. I used to fly as a child and as a young adult, but the older I get, the more I want to stay away from flight and absolutely anything to do with it. I can't be sure, but I suspect it's become worse since 9/11.I can definitely sympathize with your feelings on flying, Kerry (and I, too, did it some in my younger days, and now can't fathom ever doing it again).
Spiders don't bother me much. But if I see one in my bedroom at night before going to bed, I catch it and release it outside.
I can definitely sympathize with your feelings on flying, Kerry (and I, too, did it some in my younger days, and now can't fathom ever doing it again).
I did wonder, though, how isolating that might be for you Down Under, where I have the impression that air travel is such a paramount means of getting around the country, not to mention visiting overseas. Here in the States, which like yours is a vast country, flying-phobes such as myself can conceivably board a train, car, or bus and cross over into Canada or even, theoretically, go as far in the opposite direction as Central America. And though long distances often separate the various American cities and towns, there are always even small hamlets along most of the land routes one can take, to accommodate in terms of lodging, nourishment, and rest. In Australia, I have the impression that the interior of the country is largely empty of human habitation, so that though one can drive as far as the roads will take them, one must be very well prepared in terms of fuel and food lest one not encounter another community for many hundreds of miles.
Just wondering, and I beg the pardon of anyone reading if I unintentionally offended with my ruminations.
I'm kinda like you, Kerry. I don't mind traveling and in fact kind of enjoy it, but that's probably because I do it so rarely. And when I do, it's most often to visit family and/or friends in far-away places in my own country. I see flying as a necessary evil to get to some of them, like the extreme Northeast and all parts West, but I prefer to drive if it's only a day's worth of it. The trouble is I don't have enough time to do two- and three-day driving trips to get up North to my family. But if I did, I wouldn't mind taking my time and seeing some sights on the way.
I have some friends who live to travel, and they've traveled all over the world. I think "Good for them." I couldn't care less if I ever see China or Africa or even South America, to which my husband flies regularly for his job. I'm a huge Anglophile - always have been - so of course I had to see England the first chance I got. I've been back twice since, I loved it so much. I'd rather go there yet again than go to see Spain or France or Italy for the first time. I'm sure they're all lovely, but I just really don't care. They're for someone else, and power to them, but not for me. I see all the beauty I need to see right in my own back yard. Sure, sometimes I tire of the sub-tropics and want to get away up North to see a different season or a different kind of landscape, but I'm never away from home for too long. I love my house and my neighborhood and I love just knockin' about in my own town.
Well, it really [doesn't] matter much where you are,
'Cause home is in your heart - it's a feeling that you wake with one day.
Some people keep runnin' all their [lives]
But still find they haven't gone too far -
They don't see: it's a feeling inside - the feeling inside.
As for spiders, I like them; they bring good luck according to German fairy tales.
Fear of closed and confined spaces is my main fear from the ones listed in the poll. I once went on a tour of some caves (with tour guides and a big group of tourists... and my parents) and I almost had a panic attack. It was awful.
Hmmm, maybe German spiders are cute, but Australian spiders are definitely not cute. They are big and hairy and deadly. We have a barking spider and also bird-eating spiders. That's big! If they bite you and you are not treated with antivenene in time, you will literally die! Having said that, however, we have the superstition here in Australia that the presence of a spider in your home is supposed to foretell the coming of wealth. If you kill the home-invading spider, the result is supposed to be that you will not get the money promised by its presence. I suspect this superstition came down to us from our English forebears, where spiders are probably small and cute, just like your spiders in Germany! Personally, I'd prefer to be poor and alive! :D
The cicadas are already coming out here. My dog just caught one in his mouth and released it into my house. He's released 5 or 6 of them in here already. They're coming out earlier than normal this year. I guess they're anxious to crawl out of their nests after all the cold weather we had. God, I hate those things.
Kerry, honey, are we talking about the same thing here?
Because THIS is what I'm talkin' about....
(http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j43/Davidindy/cicada1.jpg)
And those red eyes! Ewww! :P
My dog keeps catching them in his mouth and carrying them into the house. I have 5 or 6 of them in here. :P
They look like flying monkeys. I feel like I'm living in some warped version of the "Wizard of Oz".
>:( >:(
Hey, David, didn't you have an Attack of the 17-Year Cicadas a few years back in Indy? Or was that more in Cincinnati and Dayton? My brother lives in Dayton, and he said the sidewacks and roads were covered with them. You couldn't walk outside without stepping on several, even if you tried not to. Ewwwww.
Right now in South Florida, the "love bugs" are mating. So when you drive anywhere on the Turnpike for any length of time, your windshield becomes littered with black and red. Ugh. But then again, as my Dad says, "As bad as that is for you, consider how bad their day just got."
Here's an Australian cicada, David, like the one that flew into my living room last Summer:(http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o126/kez4oz/111cicada2.jpg)
They come in different colours, primarily green, yellow and black.
Hey, David, didn't you have an Attack of the 17-Year Cicadas a few years back in Indy? Or was that more in Cincinnati and Dayton? My brother lives in Dayton, and he said the sidewacks and roads were covered with them. You couldn't walk outside without stepping on several, even if you tried not to. Ewwwww.
Right now in South Florida, the "love bugs" are mating. So when you drive anywhere on the Turnpike for any length of time, your windshield becomes littered with black and red. Ugh. But then again, as my Dad says, "As bad as that is for you, consider how bad their day just got."
Kerry. Honestly, I don't know how you could possibly think those things are cute.
I don't understand it. ???
:D I guess they evoke memories of my happy childhood, growing-up in the beach suburbs of Sydney. Most Australians would consider the sound they make to be representative of an Australian Summer. You cannot avoid the sound of cicadas in Australia during Summer. It permeates every aspect of life here during the Summer months, night and day, there's no escaping it. It can be quite deafening in woodland areas, and also in the cities. If you visited Australia at the height of Summer (Dec-Feb), it would be the first sound you would hear as you got off the aeroplane. Unlike American cicadas, however, they don't seem to make a nuisance of themselves here. They don't fall on the ground, to be squished underfoot, and very rarely fly indoors. In fact, even though they can be heard everywhere, they are quite difficult to find, because they live in the treetops. They do appear to provide a great deal of nutritious protein for our beautiful and abundant Australian birdlife. Like all Australian little boys, I bet Heath collected cicadas as a child. We collected them live and swapped them with out friends, keeping them in shoe-boxes. There are several different beautiful colours, the most common of which is the "Green Grocer" (as seen in the pic I posted yesterday) and the Yellow Monday (yellow). The most rare, and therefore most sought-after by the children, is the Black Prince. I've only ever seen a couple of Black Princes in my life. :D
Well, Heath is welcome to come and collect cicadas off of my doorstep anytime he wants! :D
I just noticed something Kerry. You are 14 posts away from hitting 1000! Shall we look forward to it tonight, or wait until tomorrow?
Either way, I'll reserve a table for you over at the +1000 Posts Club! :)
Thank ya kindly, David. I look forward to becoming a member of the elite inner circle. Got a long way to go before I catch up with you. Doubt I ever will. I feel genuinely honoured to be a member of BetterMost.
Hey! Congratulations buddy!!!
Some people left you messages over at the club!
http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,1579.4005.html (http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,1579.4005.html)
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D