When I was a kid, for many years bears were my favorite animal. Then I got to be a tween and they were edged out by the nobler lion … and then I was too old to have favorite animals any more.
But I still like bears.
They just have a certain something to them. That something where they are cute and funny, and can also kill you.
If you don’t show the proper respect, they will maul you.
They were once used as a judgment of God. (II Kings 2:23 – 25)
And yet. Hairy, roly-poly, eat a lot, sleep a lot … maybe they remind us of ourselves. Or they parody or excuse our vices.
A blogger I used to know has said that he and his siblings used bears as a unit of measure. It started out with, “I’m as hungry as a bear!” “Well, I’m as hungry as ten bears!” But then it became more abstract, until bears could be used to measure anything. I think this is delightful.
Still, please remember that they can kill you.
Here are a few bears that you might find around my home.
Out of Babel 
Cool post.
I’m in Squirrelville right now, aka “Land of the Bears”. I haven’t seen one yet, but I hope I do.
My first nightmare as a kid was about a bear.
My favourite stuffed animal was a bear. I kept it all these years. I also kept “Big Bad Bruce”, a children’s book by Bill Peet. I think you would like it. It is an endearing story. It has a good moral to it and the illustrations are amazing. Spoiler alert – it’s about a bear.
Wow. Didn’t expect to bear my thoughts like this Have a good day.
P.S. As a Leo, I also like Lions.
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Why is it called Squirrelville and not Bearville?
Thanks for your thoughts. You are the second person recently who had recommended “Big Bad Bruce.” I will keep an eye out for it. I really like Bill Peet’s illustration style (and his name).
My nightmares were about wolves and cyclopses. Long story.
Sorry I have not been over to your blog much lately. I don’t have the bandwidth right now … you know, too busy stuffing myself before the winter and all …
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I like bears, too–we often see them roaming around here in Connecticut. 🙂
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Jealous. Though I have no special desire to see them close up …
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I’m partial to pack dogs like wolves ,hyenas and African painted dogs. But, I can bear the ursus (Latin for bear) species.
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Ah yes, wolves are romantic predators too, though they lack the element of humor.
I knew this post would be pop-polar, but I didn’t anticipate there’d bee so many puns. Paw over face! What fuzzy thinking on my part! How ursinine of me! Clearly I need a long winter’s nap to clear my head.
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I regularly have a re-occurring nightmare in which bears appear everywhere I go, but I’m the only person who notices them.
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How sinister. I think there is a Dr Seuss book where something like that happens.
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And this post is the perfect illustration of why the Government needs to hand out hunting rifles and mandatory training classes for every student in highschool. What if a bear suddenly attacked a highschool? Won’t somebody think of the children!?!?!?
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I agree. Bears are hard to handle, but if anyone can do it, it’s a massive federal bureaucracy.
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Hahahahaha! 😀
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hehehe I love the idea of bears being used to measure things!!
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I know, it’s great, right?
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Also I like your bear items! Especially the socks!
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Thanks!
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