Phobias Du Jour...

I have a fear of anyone associated with needles.

Doctors and dentists, especially.

I love it when the doctor pumps the needle and fluid

squirts out.

That's supposed to put me at ease?

Xrays scare me, too.

Don't you love it when the doctor and nurse quickly

escape the xray room?

I've been irradiated a few times and I'm surprised

that I don't glow in the dark...

Phobias are funny.
Some people have a fear of the outdoors; others, of heights.
I watched a movie the other night, When a Stranger Calls.
It made me think of my own fear of being left alone
in my house at night. especially when Tom was flying
a trip for several days and I was home with two young kids.
The house always creaked and groaned.
I won't shower when it's dark, either.
Shades of Psycho...

I'm phobic about certain foods, too.
Jello kind of freaks me out.
It's composed of crushed bone.
Bones from what or who ?
Tastes great, but I hope I don't morph into Uncle Louie.
Apologies to all the living Louie's out there.

One thing I do, though peculiar as it may seem, is I check the toilet bowl.
In Florida, you don't know what might be lurking in the pipes.
Isolated cases of snakes and small alligators popping into the
bowl have been reported.
Maybe all toilets should be outfitted with a "bowl occupied" light!

Another thing I wonder about is flying fish.
They're flying out of the water for a reason.
While I'm standing neck-deep in the Gulf, I'm thinking,
What do the fish know that I don't?

Hmmm...


*Dear Jello--all in jest!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider...?

As a kid I used to be deathly afraid of spiders.
I'd find them suspended above my bed, just over my pillow.
Daddy-Long-Legs with their long, thready legs, gave me chills and nightmares.

My brother, Michael, and I would go on a spider hunt, flashlight in hand.
Evenings were the best time.
Black Widow Spiders dotted the concrete wall along the sidewalk by our house.
Michael captured them, dumping them into a glass jar.
Thinking back on our spider escapades, I'm surprised that
Michael came away--ALIVE.

Today, I live in a subtropical climate.
Everything thrives here.
Bugs are super-sized--and that includes spiders.
Hanging dead center from a huge web draped across the Royal Palm tree out front was a Trap Door Spider.
It was the Biggest, the Blackest and Scariest spider I'd seen yet.
Right out of a Stephen King novel!

Fangs, fur...orbs as big as marbles.
I stood there, transfixed, fear settling in my spine.
My childhood chills had come back.
Grabbing a broom, I broke the web.
'Trappie' dropped down, dangling...
I flung it out to the street.
I haven't seen one since.

Wolf Spiders are just as fearsome.
Recently, one was sitting on the edge of the pool.
Big as a golf ball, and very hairy.
I pool-netted him, and sent him flying into the woods.

Bugs Beware...Approach--if you dare!