No one could have loved me more than my dad, but he would hold me out over Tallujah Gorge so I could see how far down it really was, omg, such a fear of heights from that~

A sily white oak snake decided my GH would be a good nursery for her babies this past spring. They were little, I wasn't that afraid when I'd see them, call to Robert to come get, he'd just move them to another flowerbed as I was mumbling, only good snake is a dead snake. Well, now, just about everyday, and it's really freaking me out, up high in my GH is a dang snake dangling, looking around for my lizards to EAT. (As soon as I see them, I blast them with water and Rush Limbaugh.) I can't begin to tell you how this has stressed me out, I love those lizards so much:-( A phobia has developed, bigtime!

I'm so sorry Kevin, but that bit about the nuns just sent me into such regales of laughter (seriously out loud laghter)...that the dogs started jumping onto me thinking I was having a fit-

Now that the tears have waned, I have a terrible, terrible fear of spiders. Mice- who cares? Snakes- no problem! Spiders scare the living hell out of me. I can kill the little tan/clear ones in the house, but anything else is almost paralyzing.

Yeah, great for a gardener!
Carolyn

Oh Judy, protect those poor, little lizards. I like them too. I have this mental image of a snake looking down on you. Too funny!

Carolyn,

I'm not kidding about the nun thing. As a kid and even into high school I kept having that stupid dream. I can still see the black and white. (shudder) I have no idea where it came from. I did go to a church school, but I'm not Catholic.

Spiders hanging on the ceiling above the bed do creep me out. Make sure you check yours before bedtime. Sweet dreams.

I'm not afraid of mice; in fact I think they're kind of cute - OUTSIDE! A couple of years ago they kept getting into the house. I would be watching TV and see one run along the wall. One night I saw one run into my bedroom. I freaked. I was so convinced he was in the bed I ripped the whole thing apart. Couldn't find him anywhere. I searched the room and still couldn't find him. Then the thought occurred to me that if I went to bed and a blanket was touching the floor, he would climb up it and join me. For the life of me I could not get that thought out of my mind. I went to bed and gathered all the blankets up on top of the bed making sure nothing was touching the floor.

The mind is such an odd thing.

I don't like spiders, but I can handle them. I used to call out and say "Spiders, go away, I'm coming down and I don't like you" when I worked in CT. I had a pet rat, I could kill mice, I could pick up snakes and toads....

I don't think it is really a phobia, but sometimes I see myself falling down stairs...Now one thing I absolutely HATE is glass floors. I also don't mind heights OUTSIDE, but, if I look down and open stairwell which is more than 4 flights, I begin to get a tad panicky. I remember on two occassions as a kid, we had this HUGE 19th century courthouse which had a grand staircase which went I think three floors. At each flor as a landing which sort of fed into it until you got to the third floor. I remember climbing up just fine, but then I turned around and saw that flight running straight down, and the 5 year old I was promptly sat down and went down the stairs on my bottom. I've always considered this strange as walking across beams and playing in the highest haymow in our barn was a piece of cake. I never had a problem...but that...and one time when I went to the top of one of those gym fences and looked down...I froze..and had to say to myself, move it. But, in general I'm not afraid of heights. I can still climb trees, and I went out on a 2nd story hipped roof to clean out gutters in the 19th century house I was responsible for in CT. Go figure.

Kevin, that nun thing....

HAHAHAHAHAHA

I don't really have any phobias per se. There are just things that don't belong in my world, or I'd prefer not to know they are around like spiders and snakes. But living in the south, we have such ugly, large creepy-crawly things, the average spider and snake become rather mundane. I wasn't real thrilled to come across the 3 foot black snake in my front flower bed today, especially since there was the skin of a much, much larger black snake in the same flower bed, all within a foot of the garage. Too close for comfort. On the other hand, I've seen cotton mouths as big around as a mans upper arm. I've seen scarab beetles as big as my hand, so things like Jap beetles piss me off, rather than creeping me out. You don't even want to know how big wolf spiders can get.

Heights don't scare me that much, it's climbing ladders I don't like. I've never met one that didn't wobble. I have no problem standing on the window sills and hanging out the window to paint the frames, even two stories above the drive, but I'd never, ever get that far up a ladder.

What does kind of freak me out, but I just tell myself to get over it, is when I can't see where I'm going. Like when I'm at the top of a ski slope and it's so steep you can't see over the edge. All you can do is jump off, and head down the hill without being able to see where you are going at first. Some of the escalators in the Atlanta subway are like this. You can see that first step, but the next one, no. It doesn't help that some of them move about 100 mph, I swear.

Isn't the subway in DC something like that or the one in Toronto? I remember having the same feeling in one of those places.

In theory flying should totally freak me out. I do have my moments of panic usually when the plane is just taking off. It ain't natural after all! Luckily, something clicks in my brain and I just accept the fact I don't have a choice, it's completely out of my control and I'm not really 33,000 feet up there. Until the plane lands, I just don't think about it.

Oh, man, landing is the worst for me.
I'm helping him put on brakes so much that my feet are about going thru the floor~
taking off is a pretty good rush;-)

Heights and clowns.

My other half hates clowns. I can honestly stay that I don't have any phobias, but I do have a recurrent dream...

Most of the time my father and I are in the desert in Arizona together and experience the traditional Christian fundamentalist Rapture. You know, angels with blood urns flying in the skies, Christ rising from the East. I guess it's all the angst built up from my Pentecostal upbringing and my general rebellion towards all forms of religious extremism..

Bread and nuns? Now, I can't explain that one...

{{gwi:135424}}

Haaaaa!!! That was mean, though. What if Kev sees it and keels over with a heart attack? ;)

Flying. Especially taking off and climbing. I've learned to cope over the years by using deep breathing (with my eyes closed) and xanax. In 1989 I took the train, with a four year old, all the way from Seattle to Charleston WV to visit my Dad's family. A total of eight days on a train with a four year old was absolute hell but not as scary as flying.

When I was little, I used to have a nightmare about a bridge. Before the interstate was built, a trip to and from Seattle required going across the Aurora bridge. I had a dream that the bridge would start opening when we were part way across and I would wake up just before the car drove over the edge. It took years and a lot of bribery by my Granny before I could sit in my seat and not flip out every time we had to cross that stupid bridge. I had that dream well into my 20's and I still get a little tense when I have to go to the city using that route.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG! That's HER! That's ME in those pans!!

Where did you get that? Cruel beyond words........

I see nuts.

Cruel, but flippin' hilarious! Good one, Clint!

Nuts?

Nuns baking banana bread, hence the nuts from:

http://www.op-stjoseph.org/nuns/angels/picpages/pumpkin.htm

OMG, Clint, that is hilarious..
tears from LOL
you are a scream!!!

Don't look at it, Kev,
especially before you go to bed tonite;-)
LMAO

Yes. Nuts.

Good one Clint.

Judy, Judy, Judy, me thinks you and I probably have the same thought about a plane taking off and a "rush" is just being polite. Personally, I think it would be the perfect time for the big-O.

I remember, I do have a phobia, the thread about an "engagement" reminded me.

gotcha, Laur.. (had to think about that for a minute;-)

Ivy, Big green Ivy (gag) makes me feel sick .
The big one is the strong scent of Gardenias , my Dad died when I was 6 at that time the flower arrangments were loaded with them .
My mom wanted me to kiss him goodbye, I freaked , the scent of Gardenias creates panic . G

I have a fear of spiders, snakes, and heights. I hate glass elevators where it looks like there is no floor. Also, I hate going over bridges, too. I always have a fear of the car somehow going over the edge of the bridge and either drowning or being attacked by an alligator. Also, several years ago, I nearly fell down a flight of escalator steps and now refuse to go down the escalator steps (only up them and holding on the banister for dear life even then).

I'm really actually kind of terrified of wallpaper with those huge, dark flowers. I can't help but thinking, when I look at those huge, swirling flowers, that they're going to pop out and eat me. I suppose that comes from sleeping in a room at my grandmother's that had them when I was probably three. Scary.

I'm with Alexis on the glass elevators! Eek!

Stacy

Nuns with buns in the oven? Add my wife to the list of "Terrified of glass elevators". Also modern bridges that appear to have no sides.

Fear of heights must be the most common phobia. I'm in awe of those nut cases who scale the overhang in Yosemite National Park.

Arthur! "Nuns with buns in the oven"?!!

Oh, Kevin, there's nothing subliminal happening is there?

Not that I'm aware of.

The nuns and buns thing could lead to nightmares I think. Thank you Arthur.

Now one thing I've never been able to understand is a person who decides to do themself in by jumping from a bridge or tall building. Why would they do that when there are so many peaceful ways to go? I would be throwing up all the way down and then thereÂs that momentary microsecond of really bad pain when you splat. Not my idea of the best way.

"Splat"

ouch.

or.........

"Oh %$#@!"

(barf)

Splat

ouch

I have a new one.... cutting the spikes on phals ;p

I can relate. I used to have one about tossing phals in the compost. I got over it.

I grew up going to catholic school so nuns really don't scare me, my nuns were pretty nice. Now I did get lost at the circus when I was little,so you guessed it ,I'm scared of clowns even though I didn't see one until the performance. Now if you want to talk heart-stopping paralyzing fear that produces like panic attacks; it's water and swimming. I just can't do it. And having to drive over a bridge or flying over water is just terrifying. I hate it when we've flown into San Fransico, having to fly out over that ocean is just chilling!gb