When I was a kid, I was afraid of everything.
I was afraid of bees (they can sense fear) and dragonflies (if they land on your face they can sew your lips shut).
I was afraid of water. My fear intensified after I almost drowned, accidentally jumping into the deep end of the Holiday Inn swimming pool when I was trying to splash my older sister.
I was afraid of donkeys. When we visited Reptile Gardens in South Dakota, my parents wanted a picture of me standing next to the donkey at the petting zoo. "He's going to bite me!" I said. "He won't bite you," my parents assured. They took the picture and the donkey bit me.
I was afraid of turtles. My fear didn't stop me from entering the turtle races during the Park and Rec summer program at the local playground, because I didn't have to actually touch the turtle, all I had to do was bring a dollar from home and a turtle would be raced in my name. Then one year my turtle won, which meant I had to carry the turtle home so it could race at the next level of competition. Gingerly I held the turtle by its shell and ran until it began waving its claws, then I'd drop it on the ground. That's how I made it home, about five feet at a time.
But my biggest fear was a statue that my mother had in the living room. It showed a monkey sitting on a pile of books written by Darwin, examining a skull. I'm not sure which scared me more, the monkey, or the skull. In order to make sure that this evil monkey didn't do anything bad to me, every night when I went to bed I had to honor that statue by going to sleep facing it. I went to bed facing the same direction for years.
Thank goodness those fearful days of childhood are over!
12 comments:
David, I was afraid of dragonflies, too, as well as the deep end of the pool. Not sure how you regard dragonflies these days, but how gratifying to know that you are now a mile-at-a-time lap swimmer!
Thanks, Laurie. It's a great sense of accomplishment having gone from water-fearer to mile swimmer!
And today dragonflies don't even make me flinch!
How did you feel about the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz?
I love that you had your sleeping ritual with the statue. Caspar the friendly ghost was a popular cartoon when I was little. I had a nightly bedtime ritual of speaking to my closet and telling all the friendly ghosts that they could stay, but all the mean ghosts had to leave.
I also indentify with your swimming fear, and I swim laps now too.
David, this is definitely the beginnings of a picture book that will resonate with every child.
Your fears, like mine, seem irrational now that we're older, but I imagined similar things. I knew there was something in my closet, and I kept my shoes under my bed, one pointed toe-out, and one pointed toe-in. I thought something lurked in the bottom half of my bed, so I kept my body in the upper half only. Can dragonflies really sew your lips shut?
The monkeys in the Wizard of Oz were creepy, Christy, but they didn't give me nightmares (though they frightened my older sister out of her skin, to this very day!).
I'm glad I'm not the only one who had strange rituals as a child. The chapter I heard you read to the third graders, Library Jewel, in ONE DAY AND ONE AMAZING MORNING ON ORANGE STREET, nailed the superstitious rituals children do to make sure they and the people they love are safe.
Yep, all of these fears resonate with me too. Looking at that monkey with the skull, I would have joined you in your ritual honoring! Quite terrifying!
I am glad you are swimming now and not afraid of dragonflies any longer--
This was so great, I didn't like the donkeys at Reptile Gardens either. And I would always cover my mouth when I saw a dragonfly. And I'm still afraid of water, sadly...But I think i'm over my fear of the Flying Monkeys. maybe...
David,
I don't think I'd like that statue of a monkey and skull, either, and facing it would mean it couldn't sneak up behind you. But I never heard about dragonflies sewing your lips shut if they landed on your face. Love that photo of you!
Thank you for sharing all those fears. I was a fearful child too, and it helps to know that I wasn't alone. Did anyone see the Twilight Zone with the doll that haunted an entire family? Unfortunately I did. That was my biggest fear. She looked like Raggedy Ann. Needless to say, I never asked for a Raggedy Ann doll as a gift. She still scares me!
No, I didn't see that particular Twilight Zone episode, Diane, but I DID see the one about the kid who fell through a hole in the wall and was in some strange other dimension. His family could hear him, and he was pulled out just as the hole was closing. You can bet I never leaned up against the wall near my bed!
When my daughter was around 3 or 4 she saw an animated cartoon where someone pulled on a trophy moosehead mounted on the wall and a whole moose popped out. Guess it really scared her because at bedtime she wanted to tape the wall. She explained that this would prevent the moose from coming through. Images are powerful!
Hilarious stories, David. I especially love the donkey one -- I can imagine you warning your folks, to no avail, only to have your warnings come true. We are going through a scared-at-night phase with our son right now, and I am going to share some of your stories with him (as I have already done about some of my own childhood fears) in hopes of showing him that, as children especially, we are all in the same fragile boat!
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