Trip

In a few days is my trip to New York, The Big Apple, Home of Matt and Al. There are 11 places I would like to visit sometime. This is one. Its maybe the scariest. What is there to be worried about? Well let's count em down.

- Subways. Every time I see a subway in a movie, something bad is happening there. People are falling in front of it, getting pushed in front of one, or touching the third rail (Although I don't know exactly what that means.)

- Big buildings. I just don't like them. I imagine myself at the top of one. I won't be there, but just the thought of it gives me the heebie jeebies (well above the creeps). I don't even need to be in them. How do I know they aren't going to fall on me? I'm aware the worst part of 9/11 is not that it adds to me fear of falling buildings, but the fact is that it does. I'm hoping the hotel room is on a nice low floor, but I don't know. They said that Babe Ruth and Mark Twain stayed at that hotel. So, that will be fun, especially if I'm on a low floor.

- Mean people. I'm just assuming that. George Steinbrenner, Donald Trump, and the Soup Nazi - all from New York City.

- The flight. I'm not as bad as some people and I've actually gotten better, but I'm still not crazy about flying. Sometimes in the middle of a flight I'll just think, "What am I doing? I'm not just sitting in a room. I'm in the air in an object that ways a million pounds. We need to turn around while we have time." Then I talk myself out of my impending panic attack and everything is fine. But for a moment its not fine at all.

- Speaking of the flight - I've never missed one or lost a ticket, but it seems like I'm due. Its a major concern of mine. As with all of these other things I just try to put it out of my mind. Cleansing breath. It won't happen.

I figured out a couple years ago that what all my fears have in common is that I don't like not having control of a situation. If I know I can do something myself or at least be a part of it, I would feel better. The plane staying in the air, buildings not falling, not getting pushed into a subway train - They're all totally out of my control. If I had to speak before the United Nations I think I would be find. Put me in at quarterback for a team. I'm not saying I would do a good job. I'm just saying it wouldn't bother me so much because I would be doing the stuff.

Anyway, I'll survive. Probably my next blog, assuming none of the bad things listed above happen, will be from NYC.