guest blog 3

Allison Goes to Cran”beary”

They’ve asked me to “guest blog”, an honor I’ve never expected (nor, to tell the truth- ever wanted!) but there was this bear, and for some reason, someone thought my side of the story might be interesting.
You see, everyone in the family has had close encounters of the bear kind at Cranberry except for me. Feeling very left out, I had to settle for stories about “hoot” owls that hollered and chipmunks that stole bread. But all that changed early Thursday morning. Learning from past experiences, Rod had carefully cleaned (most) of the food off the picnic table and locked the peanut butter up in the car. We then stayed up way too late, talking around the campfire. No sooner had we retired to bed when we were rudely interrupted by the clanking of the trash can lid. He smiled at me and said, “Our friend is here!”
I had always thought I wanted to see a bear- even to have one come into our camp site- as long as it was under my conditions- daylight, kids well protected or at least under the protective glare of the propane lantern. As I started to worry about the kids being alone in a tent between us and the trash can, Rod poked his head out of the tent door and came within kissing distance of a huge black bear! “LOOK!” he coarsely whispered. I quickly stuck my head out beneath him and saw the bear sizing up our picnic table.
Now one of the bad things about bears at night is that they are black- almost imperceptible to the eye. They are also silent- which seems crazy for their size. They are also deceivingly agile and quick. I became terrified and was afraid to breathe. I couldn’t keep track of him as he disappeared into the shadows and I was ashamed of actually wanting to see such a thing…what if something awful happened?
I prayed guardian angels over the kids sleeping totally unaware in their tent. When the bear zig-zagged back towards our tent my prayers suddenly turned to our own safety.
He finally tired of the lack of fare at our meager site and stole off into the woods.
In the morning, as I was cleaning up our tent, I found two knives tucked neatly under Rod’s pillow.
I guess if I can’t dictate how and when disaster enters my life, it’s good to know I’ve got someone by my side who’s ready to protect me, fight for me…and even kiss a few bears if he has to!