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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Agoraphobia


Ag-o-ra-pho-bia  - The abnormal fear of wide open spaces *

Mrsduncanmahogany of the blog  October's November (do hop on over and say 'HI' she's growing the most magnificent giant pumpkins!) recently made a comment on one of my posts that got me thinking. About mountains and wide open spaces.



Hubby and I have been making frequent trips into the mountains. We both love the mountains and feel quite at home surrounded by the rugged peaks of the Rockies. But I know not all folks feel that way. Many people who come to Colorado from the wide open prairies can feel a bit of claustrophobia when they get 'back into the hills'. Understandable. 



I grew up in the Colorado Rockies. No matter what direction I looked, What horizon I gazed upon, I saw the Mountains silhouetted against the sky. This sight is very comforting and reassuring to me. 


Wide open spaces on the other hand make me nervous. I feel very exposed and vulnerable. It took me a looong time to adjust to living in the 'wide opens' of Louisiana. I never really did learn to like the 'wide opens'......

*This is a very broad meaning of agoraphobia. Click here to read more!

Now for the answer to Tuesday's question - Why was the fire hydrant connections so high off of the ground? So the fire department can reach the connections during the winter months. The annual snowfall in Leadville is 142.7 inches (3620 mm) - that's over 11 feet! (or 3 1/2 meters!)

Congrats to Debra for your answer! (I also enjoyed learning a little something about your country.) 
Robin, I found your answer most inventive. It sounded very plausible. 

4 comments:

  1. Wide open spaces bother me too, not sure why. Sure would love to live in and around those beautiful mountains.

    I KNEW Debra was correct. We get upwards of 120 inches a season, sometimes a lot more; why did I not think of that.

    Thanks, Jeanne, for trying to make me feel better about my very scientific answer!!

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  2. It's funny how the geography of our childhood influences us for the rest of our lives, isn't it? I'm a prairie girl so it's always a treat for me to be in the mountains but after awhile I start to feel a bit claustrophobic and need to get back to open country.

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  3. It is really weird to feel this fear that's so completely irrational and at the same time so overwhelming...
    I love the mountains though and these photos are beautiful.

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  4. Why did I not see this post sooner, I really don't know, but I can honestly say, being in the mountains just creeps me out...for two reasons. One is because being from the Prairies, the wide open spaces you can see everything coming. That being said, the second reason....zombies.

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