Being from Alabama, I have seen more than my share of these gross little creatures scurrying about at night. There was awhile in college when I worked on campus and most of my shifts ended at midnight. On these nights, it was almost always guaranteed that I would see at least one opossum on my walk back to the dorm. While I, like almost everyone else, got so used to the squirrels on campus that I hardly even noticed they were there even when they were running across my path, the opossums were something that I could never get used to.
Can I just stop here and say that every time that I write the word opossum I pronounce it in my head exactly as it is written instead of how it is supposed to be pronounced, and that is really throwing me the hell off.
Anyhow, the last time that we went back to Alabama, my mother-in-law told me she bought Jackson a present to remind him of home. She got him this:
Now, really y'all, I know her heart was in the right place and that she cannot HELP but buy Jackson anything he could possibly ever need, want, or think of, BUT I know that when she pulled this stuffed opossum out of the gift bag, my face held a look of pure disgust. I mumbled something about them freaking me out, and when we left town I accidentally left that toy behind.Since there is literally nothing to do back home, one day she and I decided to take Jackson to the pet store to look at the animals. While we were there we looked at the birds, cats, and fish, and when we got around to the cages of hamsters, guinea pigs, and mice, I stopped. I couldn't even go in that section, and I point blank told her that if Jackson ever asked for any of those animals as a pet that she HAD to say no. And if she doesn't, she'll be keeping that pet at her house.
Strangely, I have no real aversion to reptiles, despite my grandmother's deep-seated fear of them. (Which is an anomaly in itself. She hides her face if she sees a snake on TV, but if one gets near the house she will bravely march up to it and cut its head off with the nearest sharp tool). Lizards have never really bothered me, and while I'm still not a big fan of snakes, if it came down to a snake or a hamster, I figure I'll probably let Jackson have the snake. But only if there is a kind that doesn't require having to buy cages full of mice to feed it with. All in all, I guess I'm just hoping this little argument never comes up at all.
So tell me, what are you scared of?
