It's A Scary World

I am what is commonly referred to as a scaredy-cat. I am afraid of many things. According to a succession of shrinks, this is because I was kidnapped at the age of four and kept overnight, by a total stranger. She didn't hurt me, at least not physically, but apparently I was permanently and emotionally scarred from this event, or so they say. Following is a list of some of the things I am afraid of:

1. Spiders
2. Terrorists
3. Getting sepsis from a manicure or pedicure and losing a limb or dying
4. Having a stroke from my high blood pressure
5. The furnace in my basement exploding while I am sleeping two floors above
6. Getting a flat tire on a dark, lonely country road at night
7. Falling asleep in my hot tub when my husband is out of town
8. A home invasion by a maniac
9. Riding the subway in NYC or DC
10. Getting stuck in traffic on a hot day and running out of gas
11. Being diagnosed with an incurable, painful and rare disease
12. That stuff you drink the night before a colonoscopy
13. Driving in snow
14. Swimming in the ocean and getting eaten by a shark
15. Eating bad sushi and having a parasite take up residence inside me
16. Vomiting
17. Driving over bridges
18. My cat going missing
19. Roller coasters
20. Getting food poisoning
21. Driving fast directly behind someone who has a heart attack at the wheel
22. Being behind a multi-car-carrier and having whatever mechanism holds it together fail and having all the cars roll off onto mine
23. Thunderstorms

On the other hand, I am not afraid of death, dentistry or public speaking, the top three fears for most people. Go figure.