[fintstone]

When I was about 9 or 10, I remember the school bus stopping because there was a very large rattlesnake coiled up in the dirt road. The kids piled out for a better look. I was one of the older boys still on the bus as almost were already delivered to their home and we were far out near the end of the route. Poisonous snakes were common, but mostly copperheads, so this was the first experience with such a large, venomous snake for many. Despite fact that the snake was pretty scary looking, it was quickly dispatched with several large rocks from some of the boys...and the bus driver pulled out his knife and removed the rattles and hung them from his mirror. Although some of the younger boys were probably scared, they learned that they did not have to be afraid if they kept an appropriate distance. They learned that the right actions make almost any "emergency" or fear just a routine thing...and no one was coming from somewhere else to solve the problem for them. I saw the same when pulling non-swimmers out of streams or putting out fires, treating injuries, etc. It is just what you do...like going to work every day, working as hard as you possibly can, and providing for your family...then coming home and working some more.

I am less scared of dying than getting old (where I cannot do what I want to do). It really does terrify me.