Steph's group blog topic today is what we fear. This is, after all, October. The spooky month of the year.
Well, I have a fear. And it's a very silly fear, really, because chances are it won't happen. I have lots of fears, things I dread, things I pray never happen to me, but ever since that bridge collapsed over the Arkansas River in 2002, I've been scared of being a bridge when it collapses.
There was a story, though I haven't researched it to see if it was true, of a family--mom, dad, baby in car seat--that died in this accident. The car was found later with the entire family in it. It was Memorial Day weekend, after all, and people were traveling to see family.
This scenario terrifies me. When my oldest was a baby, I actually practiced swiveling around from my seat to see how quickly I could get him out of his seat and into my arms. Weird, huh? Now that I have two children, I get horrible chills wondering how I would get both of them to safety. I couldn't leave one behind and save the other.
Anyway. Enough seriously creepy and depressing stuff. Want to freak me out? The next time we drive over a bridge, tell me it's collapsing.
12 comments:
Eeek! It's rare but it can happen. I freak out a little over rickety bridges myself, but ones that seem safe and sound, I'm fine with. Did you ever see The Mothman Prophecies? Might want to skip that one!
Yeah, I get a little uneasy myself when going through a bridge in a car. I don't like them, either.
@Steph--yeah, I always remember that bridge scene. Awful!
@LMJ--I can't go over a bridge without holding my breath. I just want to get over it as quickly as possible.
My mother has a similar fear, Tamara--although it's mostly because she doesn't trust things like bridges and planes. When she has to fly or cross a bridge, she counts.
(Last time we were on a play, I accidentally made her laugh, because I didn't know she was counting and I asked, "Mom...are you praying?!" I like to think that helped a bit. ;)
I think this is a surprisingly common fear. This fear materialized for me when I saw The Mothman Prophecies. I freak out every year when I go to South Padre Island. You have to take the Isabella over to the island and I close my eyes the whole way (when I'm not driving, of course). And the suckest thing? My goal in life is to live in San Francisco. I'm nuts, I know.
We have a really long bridge that connects the Santa Ynez Valley (where I live) with Santa Barbara. They actually dubbed it Suicide Bridge in a recent USA Today because a lot of people jump from it.
One early morning as I was heading into Santa Barbara, the fog was so thick you couldn't see the end of the bridge, you couldn't see under it or around it. I felt like I was entering this parallel universe on a bridge supported by nothing but clouds. It was seriously weird. That's the only time a bridge has freaked me out.
The fear I have right now, and always have...is of being an utter failure in life. So much is happening and I am getting spooked by the minute.
I do always think about bridge collapses. I don't have kids, and usually travel alone, but I still think about being able to get out of my car in case I wind up in the water. I remember someone once told me to roll down my window, and that's what I think about when traveling over a bridge, getting my window open as I am going down so that I can escape from my car if I survive the fall. It's possible I think too much!
I'm not scared of collapsing bridges, but I was once in a car fire. My two kids were strapped in their car seats. I got them out on time, luckily, and we stood on the sidewalk, watching my white car turn black, along with their diaper bags, my purse, and everything else. Incidentally, I had left my wallet at home that day.
I am so surprised at how common this fear is! huh!
@Annie--oh my word, how terrifying! How on earth did that happen? Yikes! One more thing to add to my fear list!
Maybe its the fear of the water as much as the bridge. I remember tubing down the Provo river with you. And how my tube popped and we shared your raft. And your raft sprang a leak. And how eventually, we were hiking barefoot on a dirt trail back to the road where we needed to hitch hike back to our car. I remember the moment the raft sprung the bottom of the boat leak (ouch on our bottoms, we both went over that rock!) we knew we were going to sink just as we were approaching the BRIDGE, where the water was rapid. That's when we bailed out of the river! I could see something like that contributing to your fear.
oh Em! total memory time! I'm dying laughing. What was the name of the kid whose raft we used? John? He was a good sport!
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