The Safety Myth . . .

 Dear you,

July was blurry for me, speeding by with shocks and bumps and plenty of screams.  Like me, I am sure you too were frequently on high-alert (mouth agape, eyes wide open, palms up in surrender or resistance).  Yeah, I get it.

But you know what? There is no reason for me to "fear" anything. It's not like I'm running from a wild boar in the woods or dodging incoming fire in Ukraine.  Nevertheless, sometimes I really do feel alarmed, very alarmed. This happens when I regress, lapse back into a Safety Myth state of mind. Crazy tendency. Nothing about this existence is safe. Danger is normal. Danger is my friend. She starts and ends my days. Her messenger, that little Limbic System zing, is my constant companion too. When I am steady, I simply embrace them as part of my morning routine. Coffee, cigarettes, pushups and zing. This morning's zings:

1.  My Phone shrieks an Amber Alert.  A child from Escambia County has been kidnapped.

2.  CBS News informs me "Brain-eating parasite found in Iowa lake, 1 Dead."  The amoeba, if he gets into your head, is 97% fatal.  I also hear the state of Missouri is checking its public drinking water.  Just in case. 

3. I learn monkeypox cases in my state of Florida are on the rise; we have around 300 cases reported in 17 counties.  CNN says that the World Health Organization's chief has advised "men who have sex with men to reduce partners to limit exposure to monkeypox."  Another pandemic.  Another ugly opportunity for ultra-conservatives to target the gay population.

4. My Google news-feed slaps we with unwanted lawsuit updates. Apparently Skittles are deadly. They contain titanium dioxide, also found in sunscreen, plastics, and paint. Heads up; candy kills.

5. A flyer in my mailbox delivers a "vote for me" message from a guy running for Walton County Commissioner.  According to the flyer, David Buchanan will "fight" for "preserving our Christian values".  ("Our" values, David?) He will also "fight" any "effort to teach Critical Race Theory or sexual indoctrination in our public schools."  David apparently loves to "fight".  Total idiot.

6. I discover that my upper arms and lower back are slightly itchy. I am guessing my beloved fresh-scent Gain Detergent may be the culprit.  Laundry is now another subject for cautionary choice.

Zing, zing, zing, zing, zing, zing!  All this before noon.  And the day is still young.  How to stay steady?Repeat, repeat, repeat to self:  "Danger is normal. Danger is my friend."  Besides, it's unlikely I'd ever stop drinking tap water, interacting with people, eating candy or washing my clothes anyway. I'm not that scared.  But, on the other hand, there's candidate David . . . 

Repeat, repeat, repeat to self:  "Danger is normal.  Danger is my friend."

Carry on.

End of July, Joyce