This week: What are you afraid of? Edited by: Gaby  
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Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.
~ John D. Rockefeller
Tell us your phobias and we will tell you what you are afraid of.
~ Robert Benchley
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.
~ Plato
A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.
~ John F. Kennedy
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We always talk about creating the fear in the reader but what about the writer?
What are you afraid of?
This past weekend my family and I went camping along with our friends. Four adults and two four year olds. Camping with kids that small means renting a comfy two bedroom, two bathroom house in the woods, fully furnished with a spacious kitchen and television. Times have changed. They were even supposed to have internet but it wasn't working which provided the ambiance of being cut off from the world.
Unlike our friends, we live in the country. Our friends are city people who lock up their doors, windows, and their car. We don't have such qualms. Unless a bear comes a knocking, which is rare in these parts of woods. Rare but not impossible.
Forty plus acres of woods behinds us, not to mention about twice as much of the same we had to pass through to get to the house. It was beautiful. We encountered wild turkeys and plenty of deer. Standard country living. The weather cooled off to a decent fifty degrees the first night that exploring in the woods was a must. My little one, with a small flashlight, led the troops stomping the different trails as if she owned the place. Everyone was exited.
The next day, we did the same in the daylight because we encountered all kinds of mushrooms and where I'm from mushroom hunting is a must. The kids did a little picnic in the grass, explored around the house, but that night we stayed close just to relax. That's when I noticed that our friend made sure his car is locked as well as the front and back door. The thought to lock the sliding door never occurred to him. I mean, you never know what can come waltzing in.
By day three, things changed. We came to realize that the area contained an unhealthy number of chiggers and ticks, as well as mosquitos that you couldn't see, and all sizes of different kinds of flies. At that point the explorations stopped. Then, the little boy saw a spider... Daddy long legs. First, his dad freaked out, then the little guy freaked out and of course, my daughter followed suit. It's daddy long legs! Of all the spiders in the world, that's one not to be afraid of. That's when it almost went sideways. I had to explain that he's a nice spider and also the half inch ants were nothing to be afraid of. Mind you, we've seen these ants since the moment we arrived but only now did they seem like a threat.
Needless to say, it took a while to calm the kids down before they can resume their normal play. However, it made me realize that the fear most kids grow up with comes from us and what we tell them. On the last day humidity reached an all time high and we decided it's not worth exploring but rather sitting and sweating it out outside. In the meantime, a friend of ours called my husband who inquired where we were. He also said that on Sundays it's better not to show our faces in the two cute little towns which the property bordered on. I mean, we would have blended in perfectly but just to be on the safe side. We were foreigners nevertheless. I'll let you draw the conclusion on that one.
So you see, most of our fears are ingrained in us from little feet. Everything we teach our kids to everything we talk about around them sets things in motion early on. What to fear or who to hate for that matter. Still, I'm afraid of spiders but I've learned which ones are harmless and which ones are poisonous. Same thing applies to everything else in life. If you open your eyes and ears and learn about the things you encounter you'll know what's worth being afraid of. And you'll also learn that human nature is something not easily changed.
'til next time!
~ Gaby 
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Horror/Scary: August 23, 2023 Issue [#12141]
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