Tuesday, October 2, 2018

275/365/Scary Stuff

I step out of the car, and there it is, by my feet: a grate. Or I park, then walk to the passenger side to pull stuff off the seat, and there’s one there. Or I am walking between the car and some close destination, keys in hand or barely settled in my coat pocket, and I pass a grate or a storm drain in a curb.

I am terrified that I will drop my keys into an abyss.

I hold them tighter. I pat my pockets, confirming their presence. I move away quickly. I prepare myself mentally for the return trip.

The potential powerless in the possibility that my keys might disappear down a hole, forever, rises like a specter. I cower. I rush to slam the door, ignite the engine.

6 comments:

  1. Oh no, a new worry to add to my ever-growing list!

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  2. I'm always expecting the grate to fail, and I will be falling into the abyss (my weight always first in my worries!). Now I'm going to worry about the keys, too.

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  3. I do this too, IB, but mostly with my cell phone which until recently, was also my wallet. These days I usually have my keys in my purse or pocket, but I almost always am holding my phone.

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  4. Not something that has really worried me. Clearly I'm not a city kid!

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  5. I do it too. I used to worry about falling in; now it's my keys. And when I clutch them I remember the times I've said, "That's exactly what I didn't want to happen."

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  6. We all have such similar fears. Amazing.

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