Black Out

I've passed out (or almost passed out) 3 times in my life:

1. At my confirmation in 7th grade I was convinced that God would deem me unworthy during the critical part of the ceremony. When the "laying on of hands" occurred, I was sure that was the moment when judgment would occur. Sure enough, the next thing I remember was being outside and someone giving me water. Talk about a guilt complex.

2. A Jewish friend of mine died when I was a teenager. The funeral included a ceremonial rite that had the participants, myself included, fill the grave at the end of the ceremony. For anyone who has not experienced this, it basically consists of contributing one shovel full to the grave. This caught me completely off guard, was followed by me imagining my friend being buried alive, and then I was out.

3. This past week - I was at a walk in clinic for my wife, who had a really high fever (she is better now). At some point, the doctor was showing her x-rays of her chest to show that everything looked ok. For some reason, similar to people's reaction to the sight of blood, I started to pass out. In the end, I did not, but it was damn close! Not sure what it was. I hadn't eaten any real food that day and I've been exhausted as of late...so maybe it was just the combined factors. Who knows. Funny thing though.