Childhood fears (bizarre)
Growing up, our family had cereal for breakfast multiple times a week as many American families do. I don’t remember my mom’s or sister’s favorite cereals. Or mine, either; maybe Peanut Butter Crunch. But my dad would always have Frosted Flakes. This must have been why I had the misconception that Frosted Flakes was an “adult” cereal, and kids simply didn’t eat it.*
One morning, at the age of 7 or 8, I was sitting at the table while my parents were preparing breakfast. All of a sudden, I get a bowl of Frosted Flakes thrust in front of me. Subconsciously, “This is grown-up food!” runs through my mind. My eyes reacted by widening in terror and welling up with tears. “I don’t like Frosted Flakes…” I whinily muttered in complete intimidation (and even though I’d never even tried it before).
My dad irritatedly said I didn’t need to cry if I didn’t want it, and got some Cap’n Crunch. It was about 3 or 4 years until I had the guts to try it. Never found it that good.
What about you, dear reader? What was one of your bizarre fears?
My Uncle loved to eat spanish peanuts. I recall as a kid while visiting… I too wanted to eat them like the grown ups. ” You can’t have any at night, you will get sick!” Gullible as I was, I feared getting sick if I ate them.
Comment by Blunderprone | 5 August 2008
I finally remembered one. When I was little at some point I lived with my grandparents, they had this uber creepy grandfather clock with ominous chimes and a moon with a face drawn on it. that face scared me quite a bit, felt like it wasn’t just a drawing. the chimes intensified the creepyness factor.
Comment by l3rucewayne | 5 August 2008
When I was a little girl in Taiwan, there would be street food vendors at night, peddling their snacks. They would cry out the names of their foods in long, drawn out syllables and the alleys would echo with cart noises and voices. I’d be in bed and hear them and it would FREAK ME THE HELL OUT. It sounded like walking zombies dragging their metal feet over cobblestone.
To this day when I hear ambulances wail past our subdivision, it reminds me of those voices and I get really bad goosebumps.
I also have a bizarre fear of rubber bands and balloons. My cousin would snap me with rubber bands when I wasn’t looking and i once blew up a balloon too much and it popped in my face. It hurt. A lot.
Comment by annie | 6 August 2008
Frogs. When I was really small I’m told I stomped a poor froggy flat, and when my Dad gave me a smack I cried, “But Dad, it had big scare eyes!”
Comment by Wahrheit | 6 August 2008
Wow. You guys are wimps.
Comment by The Mascot | 6 August 2008
No comment
Comment by RT Solo | 6 August 2008
Jeez Mascot, I was three…and after that I was over it. I know you never had anything like this because eggs spring fully formed into the world, all growed up…or did you fear TEFLON all you life? Well didja, pu…
Comment by Wahrheit | 6 August 2008
I was convinced that dandelions would devour me if I went into the grass when I was about three or so.
Comment by Kate Dino | 6 August 2008
When I was little I used to think that the stuffing inside a Thanksgiving turkey was the poor bird’s unadulterated internal organs. I was horrified at the thought of eating it, and couldn’t understand why everyone else reached for it with such gusto.
Comment by Ray Cheng | 6 August 2008
OK, fine, Mr. Wahrheit. You caught me. Cast-iron frying pans.
But at least it’s something that’s actually used to intentionally kill eggs everyday. Not like Frosted Flakes or dandelions.
Comment by The Mascot | 7 August 2008
Thank you for your revelations, all. It’s nice to know many people have this weird kinda stuff in their past.
Comment by Donnie | 7 August 2008
Eggs.
No actually, pineapple.
Comment by Derek Slater | 7 August 2008
Not mushrooms?
Comment by Donnie | 8 August 2008
I guess those weren’t forced on me until later in life. I had no childhood awareness of people intentionally consuming fungus.
Comment by Derek Slater | 8 August 2008