today's PHUN is intended to prove that my fears aforementioned (is that a word) in other posts, are INHERITED and NOT my fault.
My dad always feared someone breaking in the house, since we were dirt poor, he made his own Alarms, His most famous was as follows:
Place 2 cookie sheets on top of fridge, put several pie tins and assorted lids on the cookie sheets. Tie a string to the bottom cookie sheet and from there to the door knob of the door into the kitchen. Once when we visited I opened the door for testing purposes and the noise was incredible.
My Uncle Jack came over to visit. He decided to leave through the kitchen door. Daddy had NOT deactivated the alarm for the day. As Uncle Jack jerked the door open, daddy was screaming NO JACK! don't open.... well you know what came next. we all nearly expired from laughter when all the pans came down on Uncle Jacks shoulders and head and we were all screaming with laughter.
At age 40 I lived alone in a townhouse. Upstairs And Downstairs with bedroom UP. My fear was someone would come in the back or front door, or step through one of the floor to ceiling windows, or climb in the window over the sink DOWNSTAIRS and I would not hear them.
Being my fathers daughter, I took glass bottles and lined them up under all the windows under the curtains, and then at night the last thing I did was put several glass bottles in front of each door.
(any one having flashbacks of Conspiracy theory starring Mel Brooks?)
guess where I learned the bottle trick? Dear Daddy, I was shocked Mel knew about it.
When I realized Daddy and I shared the same FEARS of just about everything, I googled Genetics and Fear
AND FOUND VINDICATION....
Traditionally, fear has been thought of as a learned response. The process is known as conditioning.
"Now we can say that the fear conditioning process in humans is controlled, at least to some extent, by genetic factors," he said.
Between one-third and one-half of the fear conditioning process appears to be inherited, he added. I found this on ABC science
I rest my case.......
MadSnapper, AKA Bloviator: "bloviate: to speak or write verbosely, typically not about anything important. Quote in header by Emery Austin
9 comments:
So many fears are carried over to us by our parnets. If you ask people who are scared of spiders, lightening etc they will all tell you one of their parent had the same fear. We should learn not to pass these on to our children, as difficult as it may seem at times.
No worries here as we have a home security system. It's called OLIVER!
It's very cheap--food, water and an occasional treat. Easy maintenance--two long walks per day and lots of ear rubs.
Keep safe!
Best,
Bonnie
Beth here....I understand completely. I share the same fears that my mother had. Funny how things go.... Great alarm system!
Isn't it wonderful when science says that something like this is beyond our control? But I must admit that I like your Dad's alarm system.
Funny! I've never had the fear of anyone breaking in. In fact, I usually sleep with only the screen door (locked of course) and I have to have the windows open. I think it makes me think I'm out camping somewhere. :)
How funny!!!!!! BUT---I do think we learn alot from our parents and families... I grew up in a small town --and we never EVER had any trouble with crime AT ALL... We never locked the house or the car... I never knew about crime until I moved to New Orleans in the '80's. My car got broken into several times when i lived there... Dang!!!!
I have no fear ---and that may not be a good thing, since I'm not as careful as I probably should be....
Have a great Friday... Is this a day with Skeeter?
Hugs,
Betsy
What a scream!! My mom did the same thing, she rigged up a metal folding chair so it would fall over and clatter if someone opened the front door. It got us coming and going more than once. When our son was just little, he wrote a big sign that said "TRAP" and taped it to his bedroom door. Warning of the intricate trap he had set up inside.
Love your dads idea of a burglar alarm, very effective.
I wonder what kind of fears I'm passing on to my kids? hmmm
What an inventive man your father was but it must have been a riot when someone like your uncle set one off.
I think we do learn fear from our parents. Fortunately my dad's lack of fear offset all the phobias my mom had and left me somewhat fearless. I have almost always slept with a window open, never worried about break ins even when I lived alone.
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