Debbie Bosak: Friday the 13th, phobias go together

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Updated: May 11, 2011 9:23PM

For most of us, Friday the 13th is a nonevent. I mean, come on, it’s Friday! How bad can the end of the work week be?

Some still cling to silly superstitions, like, it’s bad luck to break a mirror. Or, if you cut an onion in half and sleep with it under your pillow, it will break your fever. You and your bed will really stink by morning, but hey, you’ll be right there at 98.6.

What I find more interesting is how many people today have phobias. I’ve always been mildly claustrophobic. I’ll wait for the next elevator rather than be the last one to pack into an already-tight car.

I prefer to drive with my windows open, even if that means a crack in the winter with the heat blasting.

And, I don’t like things around my head or face; I never wear a hat and I barely tolerate turtlenecks and scarves. When I have surgery, I warn the nurses not to let me wake up with an oxygen mask over my face.

I don’t know the origin, although I’ve always suspected my sister of trying to smother me with a pillow because she enjoyed being an only child until I came along, 10 years later.

In any case, many people have different phobias, even if they can’t put names to them.

Cora Meyer-Smith, Hammond: “My husband is a terrible arachnophobe (fear of spiders). A couple weeks ago, he spotted one on our bedroom ceiling. By the time he came downstairs to get me to kill it, it had vanished.

“He refused to sleep in our bedroom that night. Luckily, he was more rational the next day, but we had to do a thorough search before going to bed that night.”

Warren Bishop, Schererville: “When I was in college, I dated a girl who developed a fear of food (cibophobia). I suspect it started as anorexia, although we didn’t have a name for it back then.

“By the end of the school term, she wasn’t eating anything because she was certain food would poison her. The school sent her home a month before graduation and I never heard from her again.”

Jeffrey Gallini, Crown Point: “I think this is fairly common, but I don’t like clowns. When I was around 8, I went to a birthday party that had a clown, so I got to see him up close. He had this really big smile painted on, but I could see how his real mouth never smiled.

“For some reason, that really scared me and I’ve never forgotten. Yikes, they still give me the creeps.”

Pete Grzbowski, Munster: “My mom would never go to a doctor (iatrophobia), and I think it killed her in the end. She had a lump in her breast that she ignored for over two years and, yes, it was cancer.”

Susan Anduski, Hammond: “I’m not sure, but I think my boyfriend has a fear of marriage (gamophobia). Really, Steve, get over it.”