It happened at rush hour in Minneapolis. A bridge plunged into the old Mississippi River, taking lots of cars with it. I blogged about this fear of mine a year ago or so and I still haven’t constructed a clear plan for what to do if my car, with my children and me in it, collapses into the Allegheny River. I need to buy one of those instruments that cracks a window open with one shot. I suppose that’s step one. I still can’t remember at which point you’re supposed to do that once the car has entered the water.
I hope everyone’s okay in Minneapolis, I’m thinking about them, that’s for sure.ÂÂ
As I’ve also blogged, another fear of mine is sharks. Both fears are as silly as my worrying about being rapped on the noggin with a coconut, but still, there it is, bothering me every once in a while.
What do you fear–rational or not?
When part of the Oakland Bay Bridge collapsed in 1988 and rescuers worked feverishly to free people trapped in their cars, I remember thinking how awful it must have been for the people and their families inside the cars at the time. Some of them, I believe, were recovered, but sometimes workers plugged away only to find that the people they were hoping to save had died. That must have been so hard for the rescuers, not to mention the people trying to free them. The same thing happened in 1995, in Kobe, when thousands of people were buried under the rubble of their homes.
Personally, mines terrify me. I grew up hearing stories of people trapped miles down in the earth. And although it embarrasses me to admit this, I’m not crazy about really large cockroaches that fly…
I have a SIL & BIL there, so you’re not being silly at all.
I have this superstition that if I worry about something then it won’t happen. So when something like this that has never really occurred to me as a risk happens, it throws me off. It’s a reminder that no matter how much we plan, life is inherently unpredictable. This won’t stop me from being nervous every time I drive over a bridge though.
You can’t drive anywhere in the Seattle area without going over several bridges of varying sizes. I try not to think about it and just figure when it’s my time – I’m gone!
Jaye, I do that same thing – worry in hopes it will ward off the event(s). But you’re right…life has a way of throwing curveballs, but I often still try to predict/worry/prevent.
I can’t believe you mentioned your fear of sharks, because although I try to be rational about the possibility of encountering the dangerous beast, a freakish scene played in my head just yesterday as I packed for the beach. How do you call 911 on a tiny island with no cell phone service? I pictured telling my son that he would be in all the papers, as I held his hand in the ambulance as it travelled thirty minutes to the closest hospital. Okay, I have a freakish fear, but it won’t keep me out of the ocean. Just as in Pittsburgh there is no way to avoid bridges.
Thanks to Mary, Dana, Jaye, Anti-wife, Susan, and Kathy. Your thoughts are all so true and somehow comforting to know that I’m not the only one entertaining irrational thoughts. I think we should all make an effort to put them away for good. That whole, “if I think about it, it won’t happen,” rings far too true. I also think, “if I think about it, I’ll be prepared when it does…” not the best way to live…