I want to know what your biggest fear is.
After all the sarcasm, self-indulgence and shame is stripped away.
My biggest fear is that all my sarcasm and self-indulgence will be stripped away, leaving only shame behind.
Flying, stinging, buggy things, particularly wasps.
My old man was a science teacher so I was exposed early to mice, rats, snakes and just about any creepy-crawly you can think of. I never got used to wasps, though.
Edit: Also, going deaf. I’ve got significant hearing damage already. It’s truly frightening.
Dying in a car accident, or worse, living through one, all mangled.
Being told I have cancer. Seen too many die from it the past 20 years.
Torture.
You know, capture, brutality, deliberate violence. I can’t even watch graphically violent movies. I think I’d kill myself before letting anyone torture me or commit some act of callous violence upon me. I sometimes fear that if I’m ever attacked, I’ll want to die more then to escape.
Easy. One of my kids dying and it being my fault. Or any child really, but my kids are around more.
Losing the fight against the darkness in my soul. I have things inside myself that I stare at, and I’m afraid they will stare back. Like, now I’m a happy well-adjusted guy (mostly), but somehow I could picture myself turning gradually into an embittered, egostistical, scrooge 
This has been on my mind more than usual lately with Spiderman 3 out in theaters.
On a purely instinctinctive, monkey-brain revulsion level, bugs. I’ve often thought that if there is a hell, it’s a place where every bug I’ve ever killed is waiting for me, and they’re pissed.
In terms of fear of physical pain, burns. I have nightmares about fires.
On a more intellectual level, severe physical/mental debilitation, and being a burden.
And the one thing that I actually think about and fear every single day is that I’m not a good enough parent. I don’t think I’m alone in that, though.
I have one true fear and one phobia.
The fear is that I’ll hear from the authorities that my older brother has killed my parents and then himself. Perhaps one day I’ll post about this, but not now.
The phobia is needles. Can’t even watch a flu shot on the news (inevitable in the fall). I’m working up the courage to get a tattoo as soon as my slight sunburn goes away. Wish me luck.
I don’t really know. Since March 31 I’ve been pretty skittish about drowning in the ocean, but luckily I’m pretty safe from that in Colorado. Burning is pretty bad, especially surviving. I’m not even going to think about things happening to my kids, so you’ll have to be content with the burn thing.
Or wolverines. Nasty little suckers them.
Growing old and dieing a slow helpless death. I witnessed my Dad’s death from emphasema (sp). In the end he was struggling for breath all the time and the meds had his mind so confused he couldn’t even enjoy a football game with me. I have had some health issues myself in the past 4 years and lived through a little of what he did. That isn’t life and I hope that when I go, I go quickly.
Getting fat. Or having a disease that involves a doctor inspecting my private parts.
Being forced to live alone on the streets, with nothing left and no hope of getting out.
This is one.
Two, is accidently hitting a pedestrian while driving.
Three, being trapped in a confined space and, additionally, knowing my air supply is running out.
Spiders. Or death by suffocation. I’m not even going to **think ** about suffocating on a spider.
Definitely any serious harm or death happening to my kids. I’m not especially afraid of death myself; I won’t know the difference when it happens.
I know it has really become something of a joke – especially to those who actually know me in real life – but cows. Specifically, being stomped to death by a cow/bull – or worse, being stomped and only maimed. I mean, I don’t relish the thought of suffocation or my children being hurt or any of the other stuff, but it’s not like I really fear it.
Reading these posts has caused me to realize that I have a lot more fears than I thought I had… :rolleyes:
Being horribly burned. I can’t imagine a more horrific experience.