Jamesism: on fear
My three-year-old boy, James, was talking about his fears as I tucked him into bed tonight:
"I'm not scared of possums on the roof. I'm not scared of anything. [Pause.] I'm only scared of three things: I'm scared of the dark, scared by myself, and scared of Outside."
I complimented him on his nearly-comprehensive bravery – and then after a long pause he leaned very close to my ear and said, in a sinister small whisper: "And the rats. The rats hate humans." I tried, rather feebly, to talk him out of this strange and troubling conviction. But deep down inside I knew he was right. So I went and wrote down one more thing at the bottom of my own long list of fears.
damn right.
awwww.
My youngest daughter would clutch a cot sheet (called "sooky") at bedtime each night. Sooky gradually deteriorated and, by the time my daughter was five, disappeared altogether. But Sooky never had any fears.
I've always suspected as much, as well. It's not like the Bubonic Plague was an "accident," after all. I'm also pretty sure about the chickens. They've taken a different tack (playing stupid), but I'm convinced we're all gonna wake up some day with a chicken perched on our chests, preparing to peck our eyes out.
What do you mean "some day"? I think it's happening now!
(er, Ben, the comments on old blogs don't seem to open)
Yikes, sorry about that - i must have done something wrong in the settings. The comments on old posts are still there, but they're not displaying. I'll try to fix this soon...
Yikes--has he been reading 1984?
Our daughter decided early on that rats are one of the coolest pets on the planet, and we have been ratty owners for years!
This is hilarious
Latest research on the plague of 1348-49 in London suggests that perhaps rats were not to blame: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/17/black-death-rats-off-hook.
But I agree that Orwell was on the money.
Not sure what happened either. Quick fix. Shoot me an email the next time something like this comes up...
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