i spend so much of my life afraid but i’m not much different from anybody else that way.  snakes, tornadoes, lightning, spiders, criticism by gwyneth paltrow–it’s a wonder i get out of the house at all.  and for a number of years, i didn’t.  there are other, shared fears which these days mostly revolves around random violence .  but there was an earlier, more innocent time when i was growing up when it was just the prospect of the world ending in less than twenty minutes.

if you remember doing this as a kid, we share qualifications for aarp membership and a fond memory of a crush on at least one member of the brady bunch!

in the early sixties, nuclear shelter was all the rage because america had done something that infuriated the soviets or maybe it was that the soviets did something to make us all pissed off.  trouble was, we both had a-bombs and h-bombs.  the united states government devised a plan to whisk away the president and congress and the essential folk of government in the event of nuclear armageddon.  these bunkers were elaborate and would represent the best chance for reclaiming civilization once the radioactive dust cleared.

my adoptive father don patrick even owned a business that built private bomb shelters. we had one in our basement.

on my travels, i stopped at the greenbrier club.  on the surface, a nice hotel with a pool, golf course, casino from which ben affleck has yet to be barred from for card counting.  beneath, however, is where congress would alight when the soviets finally got their temper tantrum on.

at the greenbrier there is a tour of the bunker which has since been decommissioned.  it got me thinking that i need to get myself a bunker.  well, maybe i just need to get myself a safe place where i can be happy.  i aim for north carolina next which may turn out to be where i will end up staying.