Today's is an odd post. Not sure what made me think about this one, but I thought I'd share it anyway.
Growing up is tough. Childhood fears abound and sometimes never let us go. Some people fear the monsters that live under their bed or in their closet. Hey, remember that clown from the movie Poltergeist?
Personally, I had a couple of different things that scared the bejeezus out of me. Thanks to a "friend" named Julie, I became terrified of one of my dolls at night. The doll was from Vietnam and my father brought it to my Mom after he was stationed over there during the war. Julie, being the mean person she was, told me that as soon as I closed my eyes the doll would begin to grow until she was the size of a real person. Then, the doll's nails would grow really long and she would walk over to my bed and gouge my eyes out. You have no idea how many hours I spent lying in my bed and letting the shadows fool me into believing that stupid doll was growing and moving towards me with her dragon lady nails. Thankfully, that fear disappeared.
The one that lingers in very surprising ways though, is the fear of vampires. Anyone remember that one while growing up? I figured that the only way to combat a vampire while growing up was if you slept with all your covers bunched up real good and tight around your neck. That way the vampire would never be able to get to it to suck the blood out of me. Today, the fear of vampires is long gone, but would you believe that I still sleep with my covers up over my neck? No matter how hot it may be, the sheet manages to be up there and wrapped tight around my scrawny little neck. It's amazing the fears or the habits caused by those fears that we carry with us into adulthood.
So let's hear it. Don't leave me to be the only one out there like this. Tell me some of yours!
