Today in my PANCE review class on psychiatric disorders the lecturer mentioned his fear of clowns. I admitted to a classmate that one of my earliest fears as a kid was Mr. Slim Goodbody. For those of you who were children of the 80's and watched PBS, you probably remember him. My classmate said he loved Mr. Goodbody and even went as far to emulate him by drawing "veins" and "arteries" on himself with markers. Although his messages on health and hygiene were good, I found his 'fro and the spandex to be a little creepy. Around that same time, my young mind confused him with Richard Simmons as being the same person, and hence my fear of 'fro-sporting, spandex-clad men contin
ued throughout my childhood. Okay, into my adolescence too... Alright, alright...into my young adulthood as well. Now don't get me wrong, I'm one who is an advocate for all things hippy-dippy (health promotion disease prevention). It is an important part of my profession. But do we really need spandex clad, flamboyant, creepy people to be the main representatives?One of the other fears of my childhood was the villain from the "Care Bears" movie. With an evil
face inside an old book, that surely encourages literacy and a love of books for those who are just beginning to read. Fortunately, I had "Reading Rainbow" to counteract that effect.Do I still have a fear of Richard Simmons? Well, I have gone through a long desensitization process over the years. However, I will admit that if I am locked in a room with Richard Simmons posters plastered to the wall for even a small amount of time, you might find me curled up in a fetal position and rocking back and forth with a catatonic stare.
