By Neal Wooten
When we have a traumatic experience as a kid, it tends to stick with us forever. There are two things I have always been afraid of, and I think they stem from childhood memories. Okay, to be honest, there are thousands of things that frighten me, but two really stand out: horses and the ocean.
When I was three years old, we lived in Chattanooga for a short time before Dad built our house in Blake. I have these horrible memories of a huge white horse terrorizing the neighborhood. I can even remember hiding under a car at our neighbor’s house one day as it ran past.
I have an incredible memory of my youth (Just don’t ask me what I had for breakfast.), but I wondered if this was real or just something my mind created. So, I did what I always do when in doubt – I asked Mom. She confirmed it was real. There was an old woman at the end of our block who kept a huge white house tied up with a rope. The horse would occasionally break free and go on a rampage, running over anyone it could find. The city finally took it away from her.
To most people, horses are magnificent creatures that are a cornerstone of American history. People love westerns and rodeos. People love petting, raising, riding, and even betting on horses. But to me, they’re just 1500 pounds of destruction.
As to the other fear, when I was five years old, Dad took us to Golf Shores. It was my first experience with the beach, and I was amazed at how shallow the water was. I was floating on an air mattress and enjoying the gentle rocking of the small swells. It was so relaxing. I dozed off.
I woke and noticed I had drifted a good way from the shore. I slid off the side with the intent to walk back in. There was only one problem – there was no ground under me. The air mattress shot out from me as I submerged. My feet finally found sand, but the water was two feet over my head.
Even at that age, I was already a proficient swimmer. I kicked off the bottom, and my head surfaced, but the swells made it impossible for me to see anything. Even the air mattress was gone from my sight. I had a sense of which way the shore was, so I started sinking to the bottom, kicking off in that direction, bobbing up and down. Someone noticed me, screamed, and Dad swam out and got me.
Needless to say, you won’t catch me riding a horse on the beach.
