tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post2124076619333724095..comments2023-12-19T23:18:30.239-05:00Comments on Reticulated Writer: No fearReticulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577343017332273507noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-88774930295286729082012-05-19T13:12:10.910-04:002012-05-19T13:12:10.910-04:00I'm not sure anybody but Todd calls it rapist ...I'm not sure anybody but Todd calls it rapist alley. And there are lots of cops patrolling down there on 5th St. Bad guys will find places to do bad things.<br /><br />But you're right about universities all over. Most of them are as dangerous as downtown -- maybe more.Reticulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05577343017332273507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-74483719472017960632012-05-19T09:57:05.404-04:002012-05-19T09:57:05.404-04:00I can understand people's concern--and especia...I can understand people's concern--and especially women's concern--about downtown, although I've never had the faintest inkling of trouble myself. But, it happens everywhere. One of my students was mugged last week in the CAC parking lot out at Wright State.<br /><br />Still if that spot has a nickname, shouldn't the police be alerted?drunkenorangetreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16180716977073659350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-71630331130720691302012-05-14T15:19:01.966-04:002012-05-14T15:19:01.966-04:00Congratulations on your 21 years. I'm glad you...Congratulations on your 21 years. I'm glad you found my blog too. I enjoy your comments.<br /><br />I wills say, about living on the edge, I'm pretty thoughtful about which edges I get close to.Reticulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05577343017332273507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-45473434118954825622012-05-14T08:41:19.361-04:002012-05-14T08:41:19.361-04:00Well, to be honest ... that was my motto when I wa...Well, to be honest ... that was my motto when I was a drunk. After 21 years of sobriety, I really don't want to go back there! I love your thought processes, and am glad I found your blog.Debbihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17727115174070254910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-82948638636639693682012-05-13T16:06:07.994-04:002012-05-13T16:06:07.994-04:00{{{{AutoD}}}} Sometimes we have experiences where ...{{{{AutoD}}}} Sometimes we have experiences where being afraid is the right reaction so we can get the hell out of it and not do it again And our bodies carry that fear to other situations because we're not ready to let go of it. The only thing I know to do about fear that isn't rational or helpful is to keep pushing against it.<br /><br />I'm probably more careful that it sounds in the post, and I do know when to go on the alert. I even run red lights when I'm riding late at night so I'm not stopped on the street alone. I don't seek out dangerous places or situations. Of course, dark, lonely alleys with places to hide aren't good places for any of us to go, including me. Yet I don't avoid the places that aren't dangerous at the time I want to be there.<br /><br />It's so easy for fear (and shame) to control our lives, to lock us down. Some fears I don't even bother to chip away at. Roller coasters, for example. I don't need to wear that one down, although I could probably be persuaded by the right person, someone patient and understanding, if my sharing that experience was important. I doubt that person exists. And it's fine. But I do love riding my bike at night through the quiet city, so that's something I will continue to do.<br /><br />Boogeymen exist. We just can't let them take up more space than they deserve in our minds and bodies.Reticulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05577343017332273507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-39338025816743773042012-05-13T15:48:49.120-04:002012-05-13T15:48:49.120-04:00I haven't heard that saying, Debbi, but I love...I haven't heard that saying, Debbi, but I love it! I grew up around the rednecks so they don't scare me, but I treat them with care when they're drinking--which is much of the time. Learn to drink beer for breakfast and you'll fit in before you know it. ;-)Reticulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05577343017332273507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-15440901218048779602012-05-13T14:31:02.356-04:002012-05-13T14:31:02.356-04:00Having been down a different "rapist alley&qu...Having been down a different "rapist alley" before (with a boogeyman, in the flesh), I wish I could say I am not afraid. But I am. Every single day. And reading this makes me afraid for you. The only thing I've learned is that it doesn't seem to matter whether my risks arenreasonable or unreasonable. The thing that is "least likely to happen" no longer feels like what is least likely, and my sense of what is a "real risk," and what is not is all screwed up. At this point, I can sometimes trick my mind into thinking I'm not afraid. I can believe I feel confident and that I am in control and that I look brave and that people won't mess with me. At this point, I can put on that persona--for a short time. But my body doesn't fall for such lies, and it remembers and reacts and reminds me in ways my mind tries to ignore and forget. <br /><br />I don't want to be afraid, and I don't think I should have to be afraid. My risk tolerance is increasing, and I push it--sometimes--when I can deal with the aftermath. One day, I'm hoping to be back to the place where careful and vigilant feel like enough. Even I know that, in reality, careful and vigilant is all we've really got anyway.Autodidactpoethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16860752713734930046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-49520648301728737082012-05-13T05:06:29.578-04:002012-05-13T05:06:29.578-04:00You've heard the old saying "If you'r...You've heard the old saying "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space," right? That used to be my motto, not so much any more. Living on the edge taught me to be unafraid. And during that risk-taking time of my life, I lived in Columbus, Ohio.<br /><br />Now I live in the middle of nowhere, a bleeding-heart liberal in a sea of rednecks. These people would be skeery if I let them. But I refuse to live in fear. Like you, I'm careful and vigilant. They're not going to stop me from living MY life.Debbihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17727115174070254910noreply@blogger.com