Running With Toothbrushes

Once upon a time, Franklin Delano Roosevelt said that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.  Catchy, but wrong.  We also have all that really scary stuff to worry about.  What I find curious about fear is that so many of the things that terrify some people don’t even make other folks bat an eye.  For instance, I have a relative who served honorably in Viet Nam and doesn’t think twice about soaring around in helicopters, but turns to jelly at the mere thought of driving on a winding road. 

Whereas some people quake at the idea of going up in an airplane, others parachute out of planes just for the heck of it.  What’s more, they pay good money for the privilege. Go figure. 

Aside from listening to political speeches and watching really scary movies, the thing that invariably brings out the yellow in my complexion is finding myself in a high place — be it a mountain top, a tall building or even the back of a horse.  I’ve always said it’s probably a good thing that I’m short because if I were any taller, I’d probably get vertigo every time I stood up.  (more…)