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Be not afraid. Easy for you to say. You didn't just have a large, round, black orb with eight legs present itself on the top step to your front porch. If that wasn't enough to stop me in my tracks, that spider's slightly smaller cousin was hanging from the siding near the front door.
For most of my readers, I would guess this situation was simply part of nature and you would go about your day. I wish it were that easy for me. My phobia of spiders gets ramped up into high gear at this time of year when insects are seeking to take up residence inside our homes for the winter.
I studied the situation for a brief moment because I can never let my eyes leave the sight of the creature for fear I wouldn't know where it was going next. Let's just say I swept him back into the crevice from which he came and left it at that. His cousin disappeared into the siding long enough to allow me to enter my front door unscathed.
I believe it's true that our fears in life don't wane as we age, yet often increase. As a kid, I had no problem climbing to the top of the monkey bars in the backyard or swinging high into the air inside the tire swing.
When the old Peterson Hospital was torn down and scaffolding appeared as the new structure was being built, it was not uncommon for some of the neighborhood kids (me included) to climb that scaffolding after all the workers had gone for the day. No fear, just kids being kids.
However, as an adult you won't catch me on a roller coaster or Ferris wheel of any height. My fear of heights grew as the years passed. When we visited Niagara Falls, I could be found standing in the middle of the bridge. There was no way I was leaning over the railing and looking down. A few postcards were enough for me to take in the falls.
This weekend is all about fears. Ghosts and witches will be among us even for just a few hours. The Halloween decorations this year are over the top, each trying to scare us more than the next house or yard.
The amount of money spent on this unhallowed observation nearly surpasses that of any other holiday spending. Now that's frightening. Let's not forget Veterans Day and Thanksgiving before we dive headlong into Christmas and the New Year. I prefer those celebrations as they don't include anything with eight legs.
Have a safe weekend, folks.
Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.