The bear facts, part I

I fed a bear when I was a kid. Really. A wild, Alaskan Black bear. At the time this did not seem unusual to me. Given the ensuing decades and a small amount of reflection I realize things could have ended very badly for me back then. But they didn't.

I did scare my Uncle Dick half to death though. When I have properly framed this episode in my life, I will update my blog. But for now, picture me at about 8 years old with a fish in one hand and a bear two feet away, on a lovely summer afternoon along the river.