Don't Fear the Reaper

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For some weird reason, I just got to wondering why people do things that they are deathly afraid of. I'm not talking about bungee jumping or listening to William Hung, but a deep seeded fear. Two instances came immediately to mind. I once read a cycling book in which different writers wrote about bike rides gone awry. Some were funny, and in one case, downright tragic. A woman that serves as a guide on cross country bike tours here in the US wrote about a tour in which an older woman was 100% convinced that she would die during the tour (which she did.) I found her story most interesting, as I wondered why she would even undertake such an endeavor (she was hit by a car while passing through a town. Her health was not an issue.) When I was a kid, the Vietnam War was on the news every night. I grew up absolutely certain that I was going to die in a war, a fear that never went away. So what did I do? I joined the Army, during the Reagan presidency, when I was totally convinced that he was just itching to start a conflict. I even went into the Reserves for Operation Desert Storm. I'm glad I did it, but wonder WHY I did it, considering the frame of mind in which I grew up. I'll bet more people do things like this than we might think.