Lions and tigers and BEARS Oh my!

Happy new years eve everyone. Something has been on my mind for a few days and kind of crystalized this morning.

I am loving living out of town again. It is great to see the deer a they come around the house. It is better to hear about the wildcats, raccoons, and bears that have been seen around. All my life I have been drawn to bears and I am not sure why.

Maybe it is that they seem to represent wildness and wilderness to me. I remember seeing them in the smokies as I was camping with my family, and my dad was scoutmaster. The bears would show up in the evenings. I have one particular memory of my dad having to chase one out of our truck cab with a bull whip. Other funnier memories as well, and some not quite as funny.

I seem to be simultaneously fearful and fascinated by bears. I have watched programs concerning black bears, grizzly bears, brown bears, russian bears, and polar bears on any channel that would show them. They just draw me to the TV and I have to sit and try to learn.

There have been a few occasions when I have happened upon a bear in the wild. It is always an exciting event for me, though I enjoy it more if I have a car around me, or even a glass window between me and them. I love knowing they are out there and around me, I am just not completely comfortable walking around with them.

There is some kinship I feel with bears for some reason. I sometimes think because of my Cherokee heritage that the bear is my spirit animal. No proof, just a thought and a feeling.

There are time periods that have always drawn me as well. One is the Rocky Mountain Man era. My favorite movie is Jeremiah Johnson and I even have 50 cal. Hawken rifle. Sometimes I have thought I was born too late, usually though, I feel I was born just at the right time. The other era that draws me is the WWII era. I love the big band music of that time and always watch the movies from that time as well. I once had someone tell me that I probably had a very good life during that time, which is what draws me to it. I don't know about that, but I do know I get a special feeling inside when I read about, hear about, or watch a movie about either of those time periods.

Maybe it is the wildness and uncertainty of the times that draws me in. Something important was happening of which the final outcome was not assured. Well this has gotten a little ways from the subject of bears. SO, let me go back to saying how much I enjoy being in an area that has so much wild country that bears are able to live, roam, and prosper. I hope it remains that way for a longtime.

See you down the road.

Nelson