Eric McRay of Apex, an artist with a studio in Raleigh:

"Now that I have two children, my biggest fear would be their quality of life, what they will have 20 or 30 years from now, with the threat of war, the economy seems to be going up, then down, never stable. It seems like the world is in constant flux. The inconsistency in our quality of life, I think that's pretty scary. You see the American Dream, OK, the kids go to school, get an education, but can they get a job and have a better quality of life than you have? Then you realize we're facing the same kind of potential threat that people in World War II faced. Before things get easier, they may get much, much, much worse. I saw the Pentagon after 9/11. I have relatives up in D.C. I've heard my mother say she hears the helicopters flying over Washington and gets scared. It's a scary time. You don't know who the enemy is. Your children go to school and you wonder, who are the bad guys? Our society is more and more becoming, who do you trust? And where's the port of safety from a storm? Where do you go? I look at all that from a perspective of my children now. Who do I allow them to spend time with? What are other people trying to teach my children? Who are the potential threats? For example, the page scandal. You can say, 'Oh, my son's getting a chance to work on Capitol Hill,' but what's going on up there?

"The bottom line is that, right now, there is so much global unrest, politically and socially. You've got teachers molesting kids. You've got chemical dumps blowing up in Apex 10 miles from my house. This is a madhouse. But life is wonderful. Life is beautiful. There are so many good things. I try not to dwell on the bad. You always have to be prayerful and watchful of what's going on around you."

Blair Rice, stay-at-home mom in Holly Springs:

"We're possibly going to get the landfill, and that's scary. Even though the county downplays the danger of it, it's going to impact us. There are fears, like terrorism, but Holly Springs, North Carolina, is probably not a target. I get upset when people speed through my neighborhood. Our bus stop is at a three-way stop, and people just run right through it. I'm trying to be realistic. You hear about child abduction, but that's not something that typically happens in great numbers. When it happens, it's very scary. But I would just say safety is at the top of my mind. My children go to Lincoln Heights Elementary in Fuquay, and there's no police coverage for the carpool, and driving there is very nerve wracking."

Judy Tseng, a Cary lawyer:

"Damage to the environment because I live close to Apex. The long-term effects on people's health just due to the way we're poisoning the Earth, the chemicals that pollute the air, chemical spills, the waste going into the water system. I would say I'm afraid about the future of our environment and the impact on our health. I try to do all I can to lessen my own personal impact on the environment. Just today I went to the recycling center to take a huge pile of junk mail and magazines and office paper to recycle. I do that on a regular basis. I try to make sure I only do that when it's along the way of where I need to go so I don't waste more gas to make a special trip to recycle, which would defeat the purpose."

Interviews by assistant q editor burgetta eplin wheeler

Dudley Stallings, a retiree in Knightdale:

"Bush. He's leading our world to destruction. Besides all of the people we're losing in Iraq and all the Iraqis being killed, it's draining our financial resources. Our deficit is growing by the day. It's scary to think he's got two more years, but if we can get the Democrats at least in the House of Representatives and hopefully in the Congress, we can slow him down a bit.

"I'm 78 years old and in excellent health so far, but from one day to the next day, you never know. You can be fine today and terminal tomorrow. But the worst thing in the world is Iraq. And to think it's so unnecessary. ... It's just incomprehensible to me."

Rachel Mason of Knightdale,a senior at Broughton High School in Raleigh:

"I guess my biggest fear is that if I'm driving down the road and there's a big truck that has logs or trees on the back that the trees will come off and fly at my car. I hate that. When my mom's driving or somebody, I tend to close my eyes and duck because I just can't stand it. And it's not just trees. It's poles and anything that could fly off and come into my car. I'm pretty sure it could probably happen."

Dave Kushner of Raleigh,a high school English teacher:

"For me, it's always about a loved one, something bad happening to them, whether it's in a car. I don't really fear or worry that much. If I had to pick one thing, that's what it would be. I think some people are naturally inclined to worry more than others. Myself, I don't really do that. I'm enjoying what I'm doing, and where I am and what's going on, and [fear] never comes into it."

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