I've been thinking about my upcoming birthday lately. (August 14th. I accept wizarding tools, midgets, fruit gushers and fairy dust) While I enjoy presents and cake, I'm not actually a huge fan of birthday parties or anyone acknowledging that it is my birthday. That's not really the point of this blog though. This post is about one of my most traumatic birthdays. It was so traumatic that it established a lifelong fear.
I believe it was my 7th or 8th birthday. I had gotten one of those cheapo birthstone rings, but I was pretty stoked about it. Plus, we (Father, sister, me, possibly other people) were going out to Mud Island in Memphis to celebrate. To get to Mud Island, you have to ride a tram that goes way above the water.
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So we all load up in the tram and it starts going across the water. Now, I'm young so I'm already pretty nervous and the tram sways so I was having a tiny freakout. Then, the tram stopped. Something happened and it was stuck. I'm convinced the tram started rocking more. Looking death in the face at such a young age is, obviously, terrifying. There I am, face pressed against the glass, begging the reaper for mercy, silently freaking out when my older sister leaps on an opportunity to fuck with me. She proceeds to inform me, with a wicked smile on her face, that the tram is going to fall into the water. That we are going to get trapped in the tram and drown. The only way that the police will be able to recognize my decayed skeleton is by the cheapo birthstone ring I was wearing. I'm pretty sure that I started crying at this point and she started jumping and making the tram rock more. Luckily, the tram started back up shortly after that.
Ever since, I freak out when I have to drive/ride over bridges that go over water. And by freak out I mean, my heart starts pounding, I start sweating grenades, and if the bridge is too long I start crying. Even though I know my sister was being a major douche that day, I still can't escape this fear.
I believe it was my 7th or 8th birthday. I had gotten one of those cheapo birthstone rings, but I was pretty stoked about it. Plus, we (Father, sister, me, possibly other people) were going out to Mud Island in Memphis to celebrate. To get to Mud Island, you have to ride a tram that goes way above the water.
So we all load up in the tram and it starts going across the water. Now, I'm young so I'm already pretty nervous and the tram sways so I was having a tiny freakout. Then, the tram stopped. Something happened and it was stuck. I'm convinced the tram started rocking more. Looking death in the face at such a young age is, obviously, terrifying. There I am, face pressed against the glass, begging the reaper for mercy, silently freaking out when my older sister leaps on an opportunity to fuck with me. She proceeds to inform me, with a wicked smile on her face, that the tram is going to fall into the water. That we are going to get trapped in the tram and drown. The only way that the police will be able to recognize my decayed skeleton is by the cheapo birthstone ring I was wearing. I'm pretty sure that I started crying at this point and she started jumping and making the tram rock more. Luckily, the tram started back up shortly after that.
Ever since, I freak out when I have to drive/ride over bridges that go over water. And by freak out I mean, my heart starts pounding, I start sweating grenades, and if the bridge is too long I start crying. Even though I know my sister was being a major douche that day, I still can't escape this fear.