Due Date- Wednesday, October 1st- "Fear Factor." Phobias. What is something that absolutely terrifies you? Snakes, spiders, heights, germs, fingernails on the chalkboard? Look up "phobias" on the Internet and see if you can find a name for your phobia. Here's a link: http://www.phobialist.com/, If not, make one up. Then tell us about an experience you've had that illustrates your phobia.

I am not afraid of many things. I don't run away from bees or squish spiders or jump on chairs to get away from mice. I do have one thing that when I think about it, it makes my heart beat faster and I get a panicky feeling. It's not exactly claustrophobia, which is the fear of confined spaces. It has to be more than just a confined space. I wouldn't panic at being stuck in an elevator, for example. It's not exactly clithrophobia, which is being locked in an enclosed space. The locking part isn't what scares me. Taphophobia is the fear of being buried alive. Now, that's getting a little closer. Although, it's not exactly the being buried part. Now, ankylophobia is the fear of joint immobility and that is definitely part of it! Since nothing exactly fit the bill, I decided to come up with my own name: spelunkaphobia. Now someone might guess that is the fear of caves but here's what my fear factor is: the fear of being stuck in a very tight space with just inches of room above my face and not being able to turn my head, not able to bend an elbow or knee, nor move a muscle. The thought of that just freaks me out! The experience that comes to mind happened many years ago when Jeff and I were first married. We went to some sports car races in our VW Vanagon camper. I decided to save costs by climbing into the closet and sneaking past the entrance fee gate. The closet was miniscule and if you looked at the opening for it you wouldn't believe it was humanly possible for a person to be in there. Once in, I couldn't move and the little door shut on my face. I had to open it a crack just to keep myself from getting hysterical. That is when I first discovered my spelunkaphobia!