How I got over my fear of the dark

This is a short, coming of age tale of a young boy, his fear of the dark, and how this fear was violently purged.

I think I was about 7 years old or so and I was having trouble falling asleep. Mom and dad were in the kitchen talking about stuff. Around 11pm or so, I walked into the kitchen and told my parents that I couldn't sleep.

My dad asked, "why can't you sleep?"

To which I replied, "I'm scared of the dark."

Dad then said, "oh, I can fix that."

He then took me into the bathroom that was directly connected to his. This bathroom was freaky. It was old, smelled funny, and the shower that was in it had so much grime that you couldn't see through the door. Once in the bathroom, he turned on the cold water in the shower, pushed me in clothes and all, closed the door, and said don't come out until I come back.

I was in that shower for what felt like an hour or so (I think it was about 15 minutes). I had time to reflect upon why I was really afraid of the dark. When my dad came back, he opened the door, turned off the water and said, "go to bed." I quickly dried off and wanted nothing more than to be in my bed. I slept rather easily and have not had a problem with being afraid of the dark since.

Now, if only there were a similar way for me to get over my fear of little people. I mean, I find them absolutely fascinating but whenever I get near one, I freeze up.

Anybody know of a "midnight cold shower" equivalent for midget fear?