I watched with great interest the passengers standing on the wings of the USAirways jet that went down in the Hudson River. One guy who was interviewed told us in great detail what it was like to be on that plane... assuming "the position," the impact in the water, and then getting out of the exit doors onto the wings, with some people standing in waist-high water. He said the men let the women and children go first. These survivors have my greatest respect, not to mention the heroic efforts of the pilot who saved their lives by making such miraculous landing.
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I noticed that I didn't see anyone going berserk. You see, I look for this behavior, because I relate to it. I would be the one person that would need to be hit over the head and then slung over someone's shoulder and carried off. You see, I have claustrophobia.
-Shivers went down my back when I pictured these people, surviving the impact, and then, sitting strapped to their seats, realizing that they have to first find a way off that crowded plane, and then avoid drowning. This is traumatic for everyone, but no one, unless they have experienced it, knows the intense discomfort a claustrophic person goes through in far less dire circumstances. And put under that kind of duress? Well, I don't have words.
-As a functioning claustrophobic, my secret doesn't often get out. I tend to take the stairs rather than the elevator, I rarely lock bathroom doors, which so far has gone without incident, and I am always on the edge of a crowd. And I never ride in the back seat of a two door car, and go to great lengths at times to avoid crawling under people or things.
-So far I haven't gone berserk, so I'm doing something right.
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