Phone phobia

Man, was a hard day at work today. Was assigned as the primary "phone answerer" because the entire accounting system was messed up by the antivirus and both the usual "phone answerers" had to catch up to redo 3 days worth of work and had little time for phone calls. That was when I discovered I had a fear of land line phones. Cellulars are fine but land line phones just freak me out. I think I have just discovered an irrational fear of mine. Irrational because I know that I'm perfectly capable of taking the call, responding to it and dealing with it. Rationally, people don't even know who you are or what you look like on the other side of the line. And yet, I feel my stress levels spiking, my heart rate quickens and my throat goes dry when I am tasked to be the "phone answerer". Why does it happen anyway? Could it be because of that one time when I was a kid that my mum whacked me on the head with the receiver of a toy telephone? I believe I was only 3 (ok, the most 5) when that happened. Dear mom was trying to teach me how to tell the time on this toy telephone that had a clock on it. I didn't know then what a "quarter" or "half" was so when my mum told me the time was "a quarter to three", I had no bloody idea. Looking after little kids is trying I know but after a futile hour of trying to teach me the time (mom turned the clock hands on the telephone toy and asked me "what is the time?"), she got mad and bashed me on the head with the receiver... Man, it's been so long since that happened but I still remember it. Damn. I do remember I dreaded non-digital timepieces as well until I was 16! Yep, kids have LONG memories of these things. So what do I think about New Zealand's referendum about whether you should smack your kids as part of good parental correction? Obviously depends on each parent and child annit? So let the government worry about useful things like getting the public transport system sorted rather than worry about whether your neighbour is smacking his kid or not! Unless of course if they are using a telephone receiver!!! Disclaimer: My mum is a wonderful person who loves me a lot and was obviously trying to get me to learn useful things. This is but a one-of case that is no reflection of her unselfish love and effort given unconditionally over all these years whilst raising me.