Bena Mae’s Kitchen: What are you afraid of?

Johnny Depp is afraid of clowns. Gwyneth Paltrow is afraid of butterflies. And Keanu Reeves is afraid of the dark.
David Beckham, the British soccer star, cannot stand disorder. Every soda can he puts in the fridge must be facing the same way. And there must be a certain number. If there’s one can too many, he takes it out and stores it somewhere else. I think this is called OCD….Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Everybody in the universe has a touch of this, myself included.
Billy Bob Thornton is spooked by antique furniture. He wouldn’t be comfortable in my house. But neither would I be comfortable wearing a necklace on a chain with a pendant of Angelina Jolie’s blood around my neck. Weird.
And would you believe Pamela Anderson is scared of mirrors?
Wikipedia says Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry. I have a touch of it. For example, I can’t watch swarms of insects….bees, ants, wasps, or other creepy-crawlies without getting goose flesh.
Other phobias of mine are the garden variety type and are shared by lots of people…..fear of flying — Aretha Franklin doesn’t like the friendly skies, either — fear of heights, I can’t watch Jimmy Stewart’s movie “Vertigo.”
 I had a friend who had an abnormal fear of dentists. She almost fainted while watching “Marathon Man” in which Dustin Hoffman was being tortured in a dental chair while a madman was pulling Dustin’s teeth without Novocaine.
Enclosed places give me claustrophobia….in church or the movies I sit in the aisle seat in the back row. And I have a pretty tough time taking a shower with the curtain pulled.
The first time I was given an MRI, I didn’t know what to expect. The technicians hadn’t properly prepared me for the experience. So when I found myself entombed in the coffin-like apparatus, I froze in panic. I couldn’t breathe, speak, or move. After they slid my body out, I was hysterical. From then on, they knew to give me a tranquilizer before the procedure.
I’m reminded of a story that took place in Scotland. A mother who was exasperated with her son’s constant hand washing, told him to just “go shoot yourself” in order to get rid of the annoying habit. She was only joking, of course, but he took her seriously. So he took a shotgun and shot himself in the head. However, the shot didn’t kill him. But it did hit the part of the brain that controlled the addiction. And it cured him completely. He never again felt the need to constantly wash his hands. But please be advised. This is not an acceptable cure unless you have perfect aim.

Broccoli Cheese Cornbread

1 1/2 cups of steamed broccoli florets roughly chopped
1 7.5 oz. box of cornbread mix
2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
1 6.5 oz. container of light garlic-herb cheese spread
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp. each garlic powder and dry mustard
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1 stick of melted butter/margarine
1 medium sweet onion finely diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 7×11 inch baking dish, then set aside.  In a mixing bowl, mix together, the steamed broccoli, garlic-herb cheese spread, 4 eggs, melted butter and diced onion until blended. 
Dicing the onion finely allows you to add it to the cornbread mixture without cooking it prior saving a step.
Add 1 cup of cheddar cheese, seasonings and cornbread mix.
Stir until combined. I used white sharp cheddar, but, of course, any sharp cheddar will work.
Pour into the prepared dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Place into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and you see moist crumbs on a toothpick inserted into the center. 
Serve hot.