Bombs Away

Fears, Phobias and the Long Story of Our Souls

“Perdita is scared of fire alarms and fire trucks. Perdita is scared of airplanes overhead. Perdita is scared of fireworks. Perdita is scared.”

As the littlest by a lot, my anxieties as a small child were often mocked not just by my siblings but my parents. Something was the matter with me but rather than take it all too seriously the hope, I suppose, was that if I were properly teased I’d learn to toughen up and stop being such an anxious downer in moments when everyone else was having a great time. I did learn, pretty quickly actually, to suppress my worries and hide them even from myself. I might dread air travel but I could get on a plane. I pretended to love the Fourth of July even as a I found ways to skip out on the nighttime celebrations.