Most folks who know me know that I'm afraid of heights and water. I had great friends in high school who would take pity on me and help me change the marquis when that was my job. I had a great friend who signed up for a swimming class with me to help me work on my fear of water. I've made some progress regarding those two fears over the last few years, but I still have my moments, especially when the two elements are combined, like with bridges.
It doesn't seem quite right that a person afraid of heights and water should live right next to the Mississippi River. There are two bridges here in town that connect Iowa to Illinois and one a few miles upriver that I really, very highly dislike. I have named that particular bridge "The Goat Trail on Stilts."
Some people agree with me and others don't see what is so bad about driving over expanded metal. I've even been stopped on the middle of that bridge because of road construction- not my happiest memory. Yes, that bottom picture is the view below the car when we were stopped on the bridge.
To drop James off at the airport we had to cross over. When I took him to drop him off they were doing construction on the north bound lane but because it was way early in the morning when I dropped him off, it wasn't too bad, other that the fact that the left lane was blocked and lanes are too stinking narrow to begin with, but I made it. It didn't occur to me that when I went back to pick James up- they would have moved the construction to the south bound lane as well- by the time I realized this, it was too late and I ended up in bumper-to-bumper, one-lane traffic going over the river. I was somewhat distracted by my frustration about one my biggest pet-peeves, people who try to go as far up the lane that ends. When it says merge, people should MERGE! Not drive up as far as they can to get further up the line, because it's those idiots that contribute to the bumper-to-bumper aspect of driving through road construction.
Anyway, we made it, I survived going over the bridges and I suppose I'll either get used to it, or go even crazier than I already am.
2 comments:
I hope I was one of your 'marquee' friends... I seem to remember climbing a ladder and that was back when I didn't own pants! :)
Good luck getting used to it--I think Heber J. Grant is attributed to the saying about how the more one does something, the better they get at it, 'not that the thing itself has changed, but that your ability to do it increases...' or something like that.
GOOD LUCK! Sure love ya.
I'm not sure I would be thrilled to be driving over that bridge either, honestly. But I hope it gets better for you! :)
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