Help Me God, I'm Afraid Series

Alba 8-3-13 (Revised 10-30-2022)

HELP ME GOD, I'M AFRAID

The Pillsbury Dough Boy. Cute. Cuddly. And wanted for attempted murder? Well, not exactly …

A woman in Arkansas was sitting in her car in a parking lot when she heard a loud bang and then felt a sharp pain in the back of her head.

She was holding her hands behind her head when someone walked by and asked, "Are you OK?" The woman answered, "I’ve been shot in the head, and I’m holding my brains in."

Well, it wasn’t her brains. It was dough. A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded in the back seat, apparently from the heat, making a loud explosion and shooting the dough into the back of the woman’s head.

Sometimes our fears are like that lady's. They are unfounded and irrational. But many are all too real. Have you ever been alone in the house at night? Perhaps you have been watching a scary movie and then suddenly, out of the blue, you hear a strange noise.

When this happens, most people are immediately gripped by fear. There is an “unknown” something lurking, and most are not quite sure how to react.

Or, have you ever walked into a darkened place and had something brush against your face causing you to recoil not knowing what you have run into? Then when the light is turned on you find that nothing more than a string or cobwebs, or something simple, has turned out to be the culprit.

Perhaps you are one of those who say, “I ain’t scared of nuttin’!” – However, this type is a rare breed, and I really do not think that there are any among us who are not fearful of something.

What was your scariest moment? Think back, what was the scariest thing you ever experienced? For me there was this time when I was 12 years old. Several friends and I had walked to the Dundee Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, about two miles from my home, to see a movie.

As a family we didn't go to movies often. I think this is the only time that I went to a movie with these friends. I'm not sure why I was even allowed to go, especially since it was not the kind of movie our family would have gone to see.

So what was the movie? It was called "Them." The idea was that there were these monstrous, unknown creatures who brought death and destruction. According to today's way of presenting such things, I suppose it would be considered tame. But for me, it left a deep impression.

By the way, who were those monstrous creatures called "Them?" They were just ants, insects. But there was something different about them.

The premise of the story is that these ants had been genetically changed because of atomic testing in areas around Arizona and New Mexico. They had increased in size. They were so big that they could crush houses and grab people in their pinchers.

The worst part of going to that movie was that afterwards we had to walk home in the dark. I think all of us boys needed each other to make it home that night.

That summer I spent several weeks at a ranch with friends in the Sand Hills areas of west-central Nebraska. The terrain reminded me of the scenes in that scary movie.

At night, when there were no lights but the stars, I could almost hear the sound associated with those giant ants in the movie, and the fear came back again.

Fear; it sticks with us. It always amazes me why people like to expose themselves on purpose, and even pay, to see things that make them afraid. I guess that's up to them.

But once you've seen something, it is hard to forget it. I feel for those preschool children in day-care who this fall were terrorized by the workers wearing scary masks.

Everyone knows what its like to be afraid. There are many things that cause fear: being afraid of the dark, fear spiders, fear of storms, fear of extreme heights, fear of traveling in airplanes, fear of animals or even fear of the future.

Children have many fears, but even adulthood is filled with such fears as disease, death, financial problems, broken relationships, loved ones being hurt, failure, aging, crime, etc.

Fears can motivate us to take necessary action, but fear of failure can cause people to never start or to try anything that is not completely safe. Also fear of rejection makes people afraid to do anything that could draw criticism or give someone a chance to laugh at them.

There is plenty to be afraid of today. Not just because tomorrow is Halloween. Our country continues to slide into a moral morass.