Pins and Needles, Needles and Pins

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I know it doesn't make any sense at all, but if I ever mention that my feet have "gone to sleep" in front of Robb, I feel terribly, horribly guilty.

I can't shake the notion that since Robb never, ever complains about not being able to feel or move his feet, I have no right to, either.

For some reason, this brings to mind a strange road-trip game my sister and I used to play as kids. We "had to" hold our breath when we drove past cemeteries. When I had this explained to me, I was told very matter-of-factly that since the dead couldn't breath, we weren't allowed to either. That makes about as much sense at my guilty feelings about complaining about pins and needles.





I do wonder if holding one's breath while passing a cemetery dates to the pre-automotive age. Did the kids on long buggy trips pass out from oxygen deprivation? Or were previous generations of bored kids less credulous than I was as a child?

I did not take this brilliant photo. It is one of my Flickr discoveries. Yes, those are kitty whiskers. And no, I don't recall what I was actually looking for when I stumbled across that image.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I thought that holding your breath superstition had more to do with not inhaling evil spirits or not letting them steal your soul while breathing - totally unscientific of course.

Grinch of GG
Lisa said…
Hmmmm...that makes a lot more sense than the way I learned it.
Kaaren said…
My son and I do the same thing around cemeteries. Daivis just rolls his eyes. I heard the inhaling eveil spirti thing as well when I was little.
Huh. I was taught to hold my breath while riding through tunnels by my best friend's sister when in Jr. high. You had to hold it at least half-way through the Caldecott tunnel in Berkeley (you can see a line demarking the 2 counties) or you'd get into an accident. To this day, I've never gone through without doing so. Superstitions die hard! But in this case, it's worked. . . !
cath said…
Oh yes, we did that, but I don't remember why. It was up there with giving the closest sister the hardest hit in the shoulder you could muster in close quarters when you saw a VW Bug.
Anonymous said…
PUNCHBUGGY!!!

Wow, I haven't thought of that (or even seen one) in ages....
Anonymous said…
It's morbid to think of but perhaps it has to do with travel during the turn-of-the 20th century and all pre-technology as we think of it today. Perhaps you had to hold your breath because of the scent in the air.
Syndee said…
My daughters used to hold their breath when passing a cemetery, but I had no idea why,or who, taught them that...Wasn't me! We all did the 'punchbuggy' thing and now we've come up with a smart car one--when one sees a smart car you tap someone upside the head and call 'smartcar _________' with the color of the smartcar. This could become a new favorite car game used to torture a sibling!
John and Diane said…
Love the cat whisker pin cushion pic!
-Astro D
knitica said…
Well you know, back when kids were passing cemeteries in buggies they were smaller because there weren't as many dead people yet, right, right?!
Anonymous said…
I always thought the cemetery game was just a ploy to keep us quiet on roadtrips, similar to "First to leave their seat loses" or, my mother's favorite "Who's massaging mommy's head?"

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