[Paddlewise] Bears again

Steve Brown's very insightful list of bear essentials brings to mind the
wonderful song:

Our Uncle Walter's not right in the head
He's been that way all his life, my mother said
Its not that he's violent or falls down the stairs
Its just he goes waltzing, waltzing with bears

He goes wa wa wa waltzing, waltzing with bears
Raggy bears, shaggy bears, baggy bears too
There's nothing on earth Uncle Walter won't do
So he can go waltzing, wa wa wa waltzing
He can go waltzing, waltzing with bears

I went to his room in the middle of the night
I tiptoed in and I turned on the light
But to my surprise, he was nowhere in sight
For my Uncle Walter goes waltzing at night

CHORUS
We gave Uncle Walter a new coat to wear
When he came home it was covered with hair
Lately I've noticed several new tears
I think Uncle Walter's been waltzing with bears

CHORUS

We told Uncle Walter that he should be good
Do all the things that we think he should
But I know that he'd rather be out in the wood
I'm afraid we might lose Uncle Walter for good

CHORUS

Well we begged and we pleaded, "Oh please won't you stay"
Managed to keep him at home for a day
But the bears all barged in and they took him away
Now he's dancing with pandas,
And he can't understand us
And the bears all demand at least one waltz a day
CHORUS

There often is, I really believe, a lot to be learned from local
supersition and tradition. I would even consider them to be "knowledge".

The silly song is grounded in something like reality. There are thosewho
have taken the time to get to know bears well and those same wise folks
have been able to approach grizzly bears and be accepted by grizzly
bears. Those of us who don't know the dance steps have to rely on other
stuff, like guns, pepper spray, loud noises and other people's advice. 

But, like Uncle Walter, we'd rather be out in the wood, so we take the
risk.

Jim Tibensky 
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