Civilization vs The Wild Part 1

          This post isn't going to be about a single story of my life. It is going to be about an idea and belief some people have that baffles me. I have found that for some reason many people have the idea that the wilderness is dangerous. If they were given the choice between being dropped off in the back alley of a bad area at night or dropped off in the some forest at night, they would take the alley.
          I first became aware of this fear when I started inviting my school friends from the city to see my home in the country. These kids, who lived in bad neighborhoods filled with violence and criminal activity, were arguably terrified to find that my house was surrounded by woods. They had this delusional idea that there was something waiting out in the wild to get them. They thought that there was some kind of animal or psycho killer roaming the area waiting for a new victim. Sometimes during the day I would be able to take them exploring outside for fun, but once nightfall set in, they weren't getting out of the house.
          My friend Dave is terrified of the wild during the night time and has argued with me on various occasions about his idea that the woods are dangerous. He is in fact so scared of the wild that he gets nervous when he comes to visit me at my home. This is part of the reason why the majority of the time I visit him at his house. Now he does have a valid fear that a deer may jump in front of his car while driving at night, but that's where his argument runs dry. He is awestruck by the fact the I can walk into my woods alone at night.
          There are many funny stories that I can tell in regard to this in future posts. I find this hilarious because Dave is a big guy who could easily kick the crap out of me, and if you met him without knowing him on a personal level, you might think he's a convict or some other kind of criminal. Though I assure you, nothing could be further from the truth. (On the chance your reading this post Dave, I want you to know that this isn't just me talking, I've heard this idea from other people as well.) One thing I have to tell you about is a talk we once had.
          He told me that if his car broke down by the woods at night and if his cell phone didn't work, he would lock himself in his car and wait till morning before getting out and walking off to get help. So I posed the question "Well, what if you were on a date with a hot girl and this happened and there was help about a half mile down the road?" "I'd do the same thing" he said "I don't care how hot she is. If she wants to get help that bad she is welcome to get out and walk. I'll be right here in my car waiting for her to get back". I couldn't stop laughing after hearing that answer. This story will be concluded in the next post.