I remember being afraid of the dark when I was a little child. I called it the "darkening". I used to be afraid of the proverbial "monster under the bed" too. I never wanted to get up and use the bathroom at night because I was afraid the monster would get me. On the rare occasion when I would get up, soon as I got back to my room I would hurry and jump into the bed before the monster would get me! I pretty much got over that fear and I actually like when it is dark, mainly because I can go to bed haha. I will admit that on a rare occasion, I still sense that monster under the bed and hurriedly jump into bed to avoid it. But that happens maybe once every couple of years so nothing to be concerned about!
I used to be afraid of dogs too. I don't even know why I was afraid of them. I have never had a dog bite me or attack me in any way, but that fear may have stemmed from the German Shepard that lived down the road from us when we were kids. Every time we would ride our bike's down the road, there he would be waiting, and he would rush out to the edge of his yard and bark furiously at us, but he never left the yard. I think he was all bark and no bite maybe? I am not afraid of dogs anymore unless they are pit bulls because those babies can tear you apart if they set their mind to it. I know, people say they get a bad rap, but if by chance you happen upon one of the bad ones, you could die or be mutilated in terrible ways like on the bodycam video I saw on YouTube, where the pit bulls attacked a lady and chewed her foot off and part of her face. So yeah, they terrify me.
My son used to be afraid of bridges when he was little. Any time we went over a bridge, he would close his eyes and one time in Louisiana we were crossing a 20 mile long bridge in the swamp in a storm. I'm not sure if it was quite that long, but it was long and with very few places to get off . Anyway, he ended up crawling down on the floorboard of the car and riding most of the way there. Not sure what he thought that would accomplish, but I guess he felt safe down there! I never had a fear of bridges, although there was one in South Carolina called the Cooper River Bridge in Charleston that I really hated to drive over because it was narrow and you could feel it swaying and I was always happy to get across that bridge. I guess they built a new bridge to replace that one so maybe if I ever get up to Charleston again, it might be a bit more pleasant to drive over.
So, all of this brings me to the bridge I walk over. For some reason, when I got to the top of that bridge the first day, I had a thought "I hope the bridge does not collapse". Out of the blue that thought came to me, but of course I brushed it off and went on over and back and the bridge did not collapse. Two days later, I read online where some guy who drives that bridge everyday was complaining that something wasn't right with one of the expansion joints on the bridge. I didn't think much about it until the next time I go to walk over the bridge. Once over, I turned around to head back and I see all these trucks and guys parking on the bridge and on the side of a couple of the trucks it said "Bridge Inspection". And they were closing the bridge so I hurriedly got to the other side. A couple days later I read online that they did indeed find a problem with the bridge expansion joint. I guess one of them was warped or something. Not sure how serious it is and I haven't been back over the bridge, but not because of that.
First of all, I had company for Thanksgiving and also many commitments with my granddaughter's various activities. But that is not the reason either. The real reason is because I was at the high school my granddaughter will be attending next year and I fell going down the stairs. Somehow I missed that last step and landed on my knee HARD. By the sound of it, I thought for sure I had broken something, but then I thought "I hope no one saw that" and I hurriedly stood up and was able to walk. It hurt like heck for a couple of days, but I am fine now.
I guess I will get back out there and do my bridge walk and hope it does not collapse with me on it! So if you don't hear from me again, that is what happened...
Lia
12/03/2025
Glad to hear you did not damage to yourself from the fall. Falls are probably the only old person thing that I take seriously because one can do a lot of damage if the wrong things happen. You get a lot of exercise and that is good for bone health and overall health which probably helped you avoid injury from the fall. My Mother would take a dive on an almost regular basis...believed to be from an erratic heart issue...and while she never seriously injured herself one face plant on the sidewalk was seriously ugly to the point of an ER trip. Falls ARE BAD!
ReplyDeleteCold, clouds + rain here...great hot coffee weather and low productivity weather!
I think if I have a fear of anything now, it is of falling. I fell about a year ago because the cat decided to roll over right in front of me as I was walking. Didn't get hurt too bad, just a skinned knee, but I came within and inch of hitting my head on the refrigerator. I'm normally careful going up and down stairs. It was just a misstep I guess. It's been nice here. Low 70's in the daytime. About to be in the 50's at night which I find comfortable and good coffee mornings for Florida!
DeleteI do miss Florida weather...the best I can do is visit the Jupiter Inlet webcam!
Deletehttps://video-monitoring.com/beachcams/jupiter/
And I miss South Carolina weather, the seasons. If I could I would buy a home up there and go up in the Fall and Spring. I don't care for the summer there. Much more humid than Florida, at least here on the east coast of Florida.
DeleteI agree. I'd MUCH rather be in Florida over the winter and near the water in the summer down there. Lived in Boca & Boynton Beach 1990-1995 and REALLY liked it. On the other side...St. Pete Beach 1986-1989 and that was good too. Living down there was very inexpensive back then. I have to say I can deal with the South Carolina summer better than the winter. I do NOT like cold these days and it does not get that cold here BUT I do feel it. I'm looking forward to late spring already and winter has not started yet!
DeleteI used to go over to St. Pete a couple of times a year with my two youngest daughters. Haven't been there in several years, but I think the crime rate has gone up tremendously since the last time I was there. I don't take cold well either, that is why I said Fall and Spring !
DeleteNot surprised that things have gotten bad...like almost every major urban area. This is really very sad. Loved going to Ybor City...eat at the Columbian and wander around. I am VERY glad I lived down there when I did...it was inexpensive and a LOT of fun...LOVED the beaches.
DeleteAbout a month ago some guy plowed into a crowd of people in Ybor City and killed 4 people. He was drunk and had marijuana in his system they said.
DeleteI do remember seeing that. I am very glad to have experienced things the way they once were and it won't be long before most people won't realize how messed up things/people are now and it becomes accepted as a new normal.
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