Megan

Summer vacation in Duncan’s room is pretty hard to take. I am, of course, joking. When I tire of Nintendo and computer games, I can always pick something to watch from his movie collection. And, if all else fails, there is the swimming pool. My traveling companion keeps saying that I really should spend more time outside – he keeps calling it “natural light”. As I’ve mentioned before, I think he needs to lighten up. But this weekend was different. Megan paid me a visit, and when she asked if I wanted to go for a swim, I immediately said yes. Megan was the one who showed me how to use goggles when I swim, and now I use them all the time. (See: The Birthday Party.) This time she said she would teach me how to dive into the pool from the diving board.

I’ve always loved watching the kids jump into the pool from the diving board, but whenever I’ve tried to do the same, it always looked too scary. That diving board may not look very tall to you, but to me it looks humongous. But Megan said that she could teach me how to do it. After showing me how to use goggles, Megan is now my hero for anything to do with water, so I said I would give it a try.

As always, she was right, and before long I was diving head first into the pool.




We had a great time, and I can hardly wait for her to visit again. Thank you Megan.

B

The Bear

I’ve seen quite a few bears on my travels. I met several interesting bears on the streets of Berlin, and Vancouver almost seemed to have one on every other street corner. Of course, I’ve also met many, many, people in the cities that I’ve been to. But I have never met a person, who was also a bear. Until now, that is.

I do know it has happened before. The person who founded the city of Berlin was also called “The Bear”, but he lived a very long time ago. I thought maybe there was something special about things long ago, and that this sort of thing just didn’t happen anymore. I was wrong.

On my latest trip to Montreal I met "The Bear". He was a person, but everyone kept calling him “The Bear”. My traveling companion often invites me to join him for dinner when we are traveling. Sometimes I agree, but usually I’d rather explore the city on my own. But this time, when he asked me to join him for dinner, I asked if “The Bear” would be there. When he said yes, I instantly accepted. We went to a lovely little restaurant, with a very brave waitress. She agreed to have her picture taken with Bernard Bear, and Martin “The Bear”. Not many people are that brave.


I wonder if I’ll meet “The Bear” again on another trip.

B

Worth Considering

When I began my adventures, I didn’t want to let people see me. It isn’t that I was afraid of people. After all, I am a bear, so I can take care of myself. But I was shy, so I would usually ask my traveling companion to let me hide in his computer bag. If he left the zipper open just a little, I could peek out and watch the people, but they couldn’t see me. It seemed like the perfect arrangement. However, over time I found I was becoming less and less concerned about being seen, and on the last few trips I’ve started sitting out in plain view. I’ve been surprised at the reaction of my fellow travelers. After they recover from their initial shock at meeting a story-telling bear, they are very interested in my adventures. I’ve also been amazed to find they give me great ideas for how to tell more people about my adventures.

That is exactly what happened yesterday on my first train ride. (That is right – even though I’ve been on many plane trips, this was my first ever trip on a train.) I met a very nice woman who was interested in my adventures, and we had a lovely chat. As the train was coming into Montreal, she suddenly looked very thoughtful, and then asked if I had a Fan Club. I laughed when she asked, but later I began to think about it. I only have a small group of “fans” today, but I do have some. Hopefully I will have more in the future, so I suppose I have the most important thing you need for a Fan Club. But other than that, I don’t have any idea how you’d go about starting one. But I have to admit I quite like the idea of a Bernard Bear Fan Club! If anyone has any ideas on how to proceed, I’d love to hear from you.

B

Swifter, Higher, Stronger

I know exactly what you’re thinking. You aren’t convinced that I have what it takes to be Batbear’s sidekick. You don’t think I can leap tall buildings with a single bound. Of course you’re absolutely right, but fortunately I don’t have to. Wrong superhero, and besides, I’m only applying to be the sidekick. No doubt you are still dubious, but I’m pretty tough for a small bear. I was even on the team for this year’s winter Olympics. If you don’t believe me, check it out for yourself at Swifter, Higher, Stronger

Have you ever been in the Olympics? I thought not, so let’s not hear any more about that. I’m applying to be Batbear’s sidekick, Bluejay, and that’s that.

B

Batbear and Bluejay?

The taxi ride to the airport took us past still more Vancouver bears. If we hadn’t been running late, I would have insisted my traveling companion stop the taxi so I could introduce myself to Batbear. I’ve always been a huge fan, so the chance to meet him in person would have been fantastic. Unfortunately it was not to be, but it did start me thinking. Batman has Robin as a sidekick, but what about Batbear? And what would his sidekick be called? I suppose you could call his sidekick Robin as well, but that could lead to all sorts of confusion. Another name would be best, probably another bird. Some of my favorites, like Eagle or Hawk, really don’t sound right. They just aren’t “sidekicky” enough. On the other hand, Chickadee is way too cute, and Buzzard has the exact opposite image problem. But something like Bluejay might work. It kind of has a ring to it – Batbear and Bluejay save the day. Okay, the finish was a bit over the top, but the basic idea could work. Near as I can tell, the position is still open, and I’m thinking of applying. I’d have to take a break from my adventures, but it would be worth it. Next time I’m in Vancouver I’m going to find Batbear and see what he thinks. Wish me luck!

B

Millions of Screaming Fans

Remember “7:32 PM”? Well now I can tell you the significance. That was the exact moment when I was “discovered” by Julianne, and she agreed to be my agent. Julianne works for something she calls the MSF. She wouldn’t tell me what it stands for, but in the end I figured it out. It means “Millions of Screaming Fans”, which is exactly what she has promised me. We signed the contract yesterday, and now I’m waiting for the screaming fans. Since I’m going to be a star, I think I may have to get a pair of sunglasses like Julianne. What do you think?

B