Drinking the Ursine Kool-aid

A wise person (you know who you are!) suggested a tonic for the blue funk I've been in recently: 'Seek out good people doing good things'. And, in the spirit of this advice, I went out last night to see The Bears.

Living in New England, we all know there are bears. And deer, skunks, raccoons, moose and possoms. However, we rarely see them - unless you count roadkill as 'seeing them', which clearly I do not. Occasionally I am thrilled to catch a glimpse of a deer, often at this time of year with a fawn, grazing along the side of the interstate as I trundle wearily home in the evening. It's a sight that always gives me a boost!

But the bears, for the most part, continue to elude me. I have had two sightings in the ten years I've lived here: one in someone's front yard as I drove past and the other - amazingly - was a mother bear with two cubs, nonchalently crossing a road in a nearby town. Right in the middle of a school zone in broad daylight. It was a real heart-in-the-mouth moment as I watched the trio saunter along and the other onlookers getting out of their cars to follow. Yes, you did read that correctly .....getting out of their vehicles to follow a mama bear and her babies!!!!

Hmmm.....

Anyways, that aside, last night I too drank the ursine kool-aid (er-hum, well, you know what I mean!) and ventured out to our neighbouring town to see The Bears.

On foot.

Without the aid of a safety net.

Am I crazy?? No, not yet! The BearFest has begun in Easthampton and here are some of the little guys I met there....




Spirit Bear, outside the town hall




Me with my favourite - Global Bear




...and a bear behind!



My Beloved with his favourite - 'The Red Bearon'




This is a sweet little chap we discovered hiding out away from the 'main drag'. His name is Wire Hair Bear.





My Beloved again, this time with his new friend Aloha Bear.




And then - horror of horrors - we learned of the 'Ursine Alert: Chrome Bear Missing, Feared Kidnapped!'

The text reads as follows:

WANTED: The Safe Return of "Chrome Bear".

BEAR FEST BEAR MISSING!

Chrome Bear, a.k.a. "Bearly There Bear" was removed sometime during the night of June 13th. Torn from his bolts in front of Eastworks on Pleasant Street!

If you have any information, please call 413-527-8278.

We hope for our bear's safe return! No charges or penalties for his anonymous return, and no questions asked!

Reward: your karmic balance restored and the immense happiness of all the bear lovers of Easthampton!

Oh, and I couldn't resist including this:



A nice shot to end the evening.

OK, it's all very silly and it's really not especially vegan-related, but I wanted to post some pictures of the lighter side of life. Going back to the sage advice offered to me after my last post, here are some fun people doing some (animal-related) fun things. And I thought you too might like to share....

What do you like to do when you need an emotional pick-me-up????

Thanks for reading and Stay Vegan, Friends!

Letters for Change

Through a good friend of mine - my mother, in fact - I became aware last year of the plight of the farmed bears in China. My mother is a loyal supporter of rescue organizations and so, for Christmas, we sponsored a bear in her name. I thought that would pretty much be the end of it, but yet again I could not quite turn away from what I'd learned and I've been following the activities of Animals Asia (through whom we sponsored a Moon Bear called 'Bottom') ever since.

Last week I got an email from AA in preparation for the arrival of 28 rescued farmed bears and just had to check out the website. The story is truly heartbreaking - and the work of the organization is inspirational. In her blog, Jill Robinson, founder of Animals Asia, asks supporters to write to the head of the Wildlife Conservation Division of the Sichuan Forestry Dept in China and to convey praise for the efforts already made on behalf of the bears. This is something I did last night and have just returned from mailing the letter to China.

And it's an empowering experience.

I was never a big fan of writing 'letters for change', mainly because I really have no leverage with the intended recipient. For instance, if writing to my Congressperson on an issue, I can hardly imply that I'll withold my electoral support from them...since I have no vote anyhow. (Yes, taxation without representation, but that's a whole other story!) But the type of letter Jill has solicited is of another kind altogether. She stressed that the letters must be polite and encouraging and to reward the recipient for work already done, in the hope of encouraging more of the same.

This is a much more positive way to go about the whole business. And it seems the more *vegan* option too - thankfulness for what's been achieved, encouragement for what's to come and compassionate, respectful understanding for those involved.

If you have time and interest, do check out the website and the blog and pen a note to 'Madame Bear'.

Stay Vegan, Friends!