Youthful Fears

fair enough. i can see that

When I was really young, I overheard my parents talking about "Dada" and somehow I thought that this vile creature might live in the toilet, and if I was in the process of a movement he might come out and take me down into the sewers with him.

I also thought that perhaps there were alligators in the sewers (my grandmother and mother seemed to believe this) so when I would go by a roadside sewer grate I would kind'a wonder.

Dada is the groundwork to abstract art and sound poetry, but I had no idea about such things at the time. It's funny that South Park has Mr. Hanky The Christmas Poo.

Me too! As a result I would always be on the ready as I would approach the end of the escalutor - I would ready myself and as I approached I would jump off.

Crunch-grind-squish...drip...drip...drip!

When walking on the sidewalk I half-believed: "step on a crack, break your mother's back".

My kids intentionally walk on the cracks as they sing that song.

I certainly had no fear of speed, electricity, gasoline, engines, fires, explosions, etc I'll tell you what!

However my brother believed that when crossing the street you should hold your breath because the car exhaust could kill you.

I was convinced there were monsters inside the walls of my house. If there was a wall that didn't have something up against it, or hanging on it, that was the wall the monster was going to come creeping out of.

My son always was afraid he would go down the drain, so he had to be removed before I pulled the plug in his bath.

I get freaked out by rats or mice and got scared by a hairbrush one time (I thought it was a rat across the room on the floor)

These fears stay with us for a long time. Wonder where mine came from. I like spiders and snakes, but those rats and mice and squirrels (any roden) make me crazy.

I was afraid of the train. We lived 2 houses away from a railroad track. When I heard a train coming I had to tear ass for the house, and HAD to touch the front doorknob in order to be safe.

I had a dream as a little kid that a witch had come on the train, and she had a big gorilla with her. I dreamt I woke up to get a drink of water from the kitchen. In my dream, it was also the middle of the night, and I was soooooo tired. My mother was in the kitchen, under that weird flourescent light aura, making potato salad. She keep trying to make me eat some potato salad, and it made me queasy just thinking about it. I said I was going back to bed, and she said I couldn't because I'd have to pass by the room where the witch and the gorilla were (somehow I made it passed them to get to the kitchen). Sure enough they were there, so I went back to the kitchen, and put a banana under my baseball cap, to distract the gorilla if need be.

I was trying to sneak by the door, and the gorilla grabbed me. I reached under my baseball cap, and the banana was GONE!!!!!

That's when I woke up.
For years I was afraid of the train, and hated potato salad.
I also hated flourescent lights.

****************

Years later, as an adult, I had the identical dream. When the gorilla grabbed me, I grabbed the hair on its head, and his entire head came off.

It was my brother in a gorilla costume.

I started beating on him, and woke up laughing.

A wild ride finally resolving in humor! Not an unfitting ending for childhood fears. If only the same could be said for adult fears/ignorances.

My kids had this fear too.

I was deathly afraid of ventiliquist dolls. I thought they were very creepy.

And then my parents being so loving - gave me one for Christmas...

honest

oh yeah, not just ventriliquest dolls, but dolls in general

creepy.

What's creepy about dolls? Did you parents give you one of the "Chucky" type dolls or something?

The ventoliquits thingy is because they appeared like little minature real people and not very attractive ones - they were always creepy looking - sitting on this adults lap - looking like scary little people - making jokes.

Man - I'm gonna have nightmares tonight just thinking about it.

Just look at 'em - gives ya the creeps