Advice from a Bear

2012 has tossed more than a few hard balls in the way of our family. While some have been caught safely, others have come out of nowhere and need a much longer play period, together with a researched game plan, so time out has been called.

I was talking with a friend who has had the recent loss of her younger brother in an horrific accident at work. At the end of our conversation she put down her coffee cup remarked, 

" Well. We just can't let the bear chew us up." It evoked an image of a bear having taken a swipe but at us but leaving us still standing. Laughing, we had a bear hug, said our goodbyes and went our separate ways back to our families.

I had never heard that expression before but understood exactly what she meant as the use of "bear" meaning to put up with something less than ideal is common usage. As I drove home various "bear' sayings popped into my mind, especially the one that dominates the world economy right now -  the "bear market", meaning the current prolonged period of falling investment values and the resulting pessisim that keeps it going. [Pessism is not my friend.]

Then there's this one:

" A lifetime of happiness ? No man could bear it. It would be hell on earth." George Bernard Shaw

On arrival home some papers fell off the work table by my computer, including some bookmarks I bought when in Yellowstone last year.

  Yes ! The Bear one fell on top, face up !

       I like it even more than when I bought it!