Why I am scared of skunks: An explanation.

I had several people ask me this week why I am scared of skunks, which surprised me because it meant people actually read this blog. Anyways, I am scared of skunks because I have had two VERY close calls with these animals and (miraculously) was not sprayed. I feel that the third time I will not be so lucky.
#1. Senior year of high school.
I had to leave my house extremely early in the morning for a school function and the night before, (for an unknown reason) my dad decided to move my car to the very end of our driveway.  We live in a very rural, wooded area and had been having skunk problems prior to this incident. Every morning we could see where they had been digging for grubs, and could smell a faint odor in the air. So, needless to say, I was cautious about walking in the pitch dark, through our slightly wooded yard, in the early morning hours. I turned on the porch lights, and went and stomped on the deck to possibly scare off any creatures (skunks, raccoons, coyotes, etc) that may have been lurking in the darkness. I didn't hear anything, and saw no glowing eyes peering at me from anywhere in the yard, so I decided it was safe. I had just about reached my car when I heard a rustling noise. I stopped several feet from my car...... when from underneath it walked a skunk. We were possibly five feet apart at most. I looked at it in horror and it looked at me. It hissed. I turned to try and make a run for it when the skunk calmly turned around and walked into the woods.
#2. The great baked bean fiasco
My summer job working with migrant workers is stationed out of two small buildings in the middle of a corn field. I arrived in the early morning hours just as the sun was rising, to prepare for a meeting I had to run that day. I had prepared food and was distressed to find that on the drive over that a crock pot of baked beans had tipped over in the back seat of my car. So picture this: I am standing by my car, I can hardly see, all while dressed up in heels and a skirt for this meeting. I am up to my elbows in baked beans as I scrape them off my seat into a garbage bag. I look out at the empty parking lot to see ( approximately 15 feet away) a mother skunk and her BABIES walking in front of my car. The skunks stop, and look at me. I freeze. The skunks miraculously continue on their way. I hardly dare to breathe as they walk slowly across the parking lot and into the corn.
#3. There is no way I can be this lucky again.