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Cheers
Give a Cheer
Give a Cheer
FEAR- Yes, that is really my name. “F” as in Frank, E-A-R. Yes, just like it sounds. No, I am not afraid, but thanks for asking. As a child I was so unhappy to have FEAR as my last name. My mom always said, “Look on the bright side. You can marry away from it, but I’m stuck with it forever.” Stuck with the dumb jokes, “ What are you afraid of?” and the people who can’t spell a four letter word they were probably taught to spell in first grade. She got the comments worse than the rest of us because she is a nurse. Nurse Fear and she worked with Dr. Payne for a while. Not an office I would want to visit. We constantly got mail addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Sear, once it was even Mr. Rear. I went to Pizza Hut to pick up an order and the guy at the counter told me he always thought that the Grim Reaper with cloak and sickle would come to get the pizza when he heard the name.
I don’t know where the name came from. It would be nice if there was some great story like my great great-great grandfather’s name was Fearless, but over time the last four letters were dropped. Or maybe he was someone that brought much fear to all who knew him. Maybe he was just a scardey cat or the name was a great name in some other language that was just lost in translation. But, I have no story to tell. All I can say is “ I was born with this name.” All my life I thought I would marry someone with a great name like “ Smith” or “Jones” or “Brown”. Something everyone could pronounce and spell, but I didn’t. My new name is mispronounced and spelled incorrectly every day. But, now that I don’t have to deal with the name “Fear” on a daily basis , and I haven’t had to for almost 13 years, I know there some great things about actually being a “Fear”.
The Fears have some interesting characteristics. They have thick, dark hair that turns a beautiful silver in old age, although it usually starts to turn early (mine started at 18). The Fears don’t lose their hair, most of us keep thick hair our entire lives. We also have thick dark eyebrows, a sign which Great Grandma Fear associated with extreme intelligence. And we are intelligent, if not all highly motivated. Then there is the subject of the Fear feet. They have been passed down from generation to generation and are characterized by thick, wide feet with short, stubby toes and tiny toenails. Sounds attractive, right? We have the ability as small children to walk on the tops of our toes, by simply curling them under. Uncle Ted could still do it as an adult. And we must not forget the dimples. Our dimples have been charming people for years. A true Fear loves to eat and enjoys all meals thoroughly. This unfortunately, has most likely contributed to our tendency towards Heart Disease, a malady which I have so far avoided, but know lurks in my future. We have a dry wit about us and a dark sense of humor. My brother, who is stuck with the name forever, insists he will name his first child Atmos. Atmos Fear. Let’s hope he marries a girl with a strong will of her own.
As I age I realize more and more what it means to be a Fear. As there are fewer and fewer of us around I realize the importance of carrying on our name. A name I now love and am so proud to call myself. I love to tell Molly and Jack about how they have the Fear feet and Emma about how her messiness comes from the Fear side, even though she doesn’t look like one. I tell them that even though they escaped having to deal with having the name, they still can be proud to be from the line of the Fear Family. It is part of who they are and part of who I am. Even though the name is just a middle name for me now I will always be a Fear, and I am so glad to be one.
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