July 1
...serving up your daily dish.
Is Barista going to have to start a bear category? From a reader who moved to Baristaville recently from Brooklyn:
My 7-year-old son came home from the Montclair Y day camp yesterday, talking about a bear that was sighted on the grounds. At first, I thought he was pulling my leg (you know, camp lore and all that), until he mentioned that he was among the group who actually saw it near the ropes course and that the kids had been told some bear safety rules: (1) don't look a bear in the eye; (2) don't run away from a bear; and (3) don't litter (because garbage can attract bears).
Can we give the kids any more safety tips? Scream bloody murder? Walk backwards slowly? Run down hill? Sing Kumbaya? Or better still, take a picture and e-mail us!
My daughter (also 7 yrs old) goes to the Y camp, too. She came home with the "bear rules", but made no mention of any bear sighting. Hmmmm. I'll have to quiz her at pick-up time today.
Posted by: Marie | Jul 1, 2005 3:36:38 PM
OMG! There are bears in the woods??? Don't tell me they also s%$t there!
Posted by: Just Saying | Jul 1, 2005 3:56:19 PM
My daughter is a lifeguard at the camp, and didn't know about the bear sighting. The giant lake monster, yes ...
Posted by: Nancy | Jul 1, 2005 4:32:56 PM
Have seen this work (done by a 4 year old child, no less): bears run if you bang a metal spoon and pot together loudly.
Posted by: Jennifer | Jul 1, 2005 7:40:49 PM
You know that noise scares bears. I know that noise scares bears. Do the bears know that noise scares bears?
My point is, sadly, simple: once bears get a taste of our garbage, they lose their fear of humans. That is what makes them dangerous. In those parts of bear country that are still wild, making noise (I used to put marbles in a metal canteen when I hiked in the White Mountains) can still work. In places where bears are sharing the land with condominiums, it might not.
Posted by: conan the grammarian | Jul 2, 2005 7:19:12 AM
