Unruly bears. When Michael and I first started seeing each other, he gifted me a bear on one of our first rendezvous — a meet-up in Philly for a conference he had to attend, where I heard Joyce Carol Oates speak for the first time. The Hudson Bay Company issues a new holiday bear each year, and this was the bear in 2009. With a Canadian Maple Leaf tattooed to the bottom of his one foot, and a scarf in the signature black, yellow, red, green and white stripes of the store, this bear has come to be known as “Nicholas.” He has entertained us over the years with his wild stories about hanging out with Lonnie Anderson in the 80s and working as a speech writer for Clinton in the 90s. More often than not he rants about bear rights and monitors their portrayal in the media. So it is not surprising that bear spies have taken over our tree.
The light brown bear below is a mystery to us. Michael thinks he must have given it to me, but we’re not entirely sure. The bear insists on being hung on the front of the tree so he can see into the bedroom and converse with Nicholas. He also has a scarf, of red and green, and a hat to match. Hats are the obsession amongst the bears this season. You see, two other Hudson Bay bears have joined our little animal family: Henry, a light brown bear from a couple years ago who came with a sweater that the animals all fought over for a time; and pB, this year’s white polar bear who has a hat stitched to his head. Henry and pB stay in Montreal, and Nicholas in New York. Nicholas is a fugitive in Canada and not allowed across the border. We have yet to hear the full story of what he did, but he’s always hatching schemes to get back.
Which brings me to the second bear on our tree: this Canadian Mountie. He was saved from an empty work station at my office, abandoned by some employee who left the firm. I adopted him to hang out at my work station and for a time thought he was hunting for Nicholas to arrest him for this mysterious crime. But Nicholas assures me it’s just a costume and he’s not a real mountie, so we let him come home to hang out on the tree.
Oh what rich imaginative lives my partner and I live. Maybe one day we’ll jot down the adventures of our crazy animals for all of you.
