Archive for November, 2005

Gord sighed, his breath forming a brief mist in the crisp autumn morning.  The zoo was closed.  No visitors that day.  He wondered what he would do, for on days like this there was precious little to do.  Not that Gord had to have others around all the time, but he didn’t always like to be alone.

His thoughts were interrupted when he glanced across the path in front of his home.  The aviary long under construction appeared to finally be complete.  Gord noticed that the homes for the larger birds were directly across from his.  “I hope that doesn’t scare my friend Cherie the thrasher,” he said softly to himself.  It didn’t appear anyone had yet moved in, though.  Too bad.

Gord started to turn around and walk toward his little cave at the back of his home for a nap when he suddenly stopped, as he thought he heard something inside the aviary.  As best he could look past the tree located just inside this section of the aviary’s front fence, put there with the thought being the birds would perch there so visitors could better see it, he tried to see what was happening.  He saw a small door open at the back of the aviary.  Then, a pair of hands holding something covered by a sack came into view.  One of the hands reached on top of the sack and quickly pulled it away.  Then both disappeared and the door clanged shut, leaving behind…

“Why, hello,” said Gord to the bald eagle who after a moment of shaking their head and looking over their surroundings had flown to the tree branch in the front of their space in the aviary.

“Hiya,” replied the eagle in an unmistakably female voice.  She continued, “You must be Gord.  Cherie told me about you.  I’m Penny.”

“I’m very glad to meet you, Miss Penny,” Gord smiled.  “It’s good to see someone finally move in over there.  And might I add, I could not have hoped for a prettier neighbor.”

Penny laughed.  “Cherie is right; you are a silly bear.  But thank you.  And this certainly a better home than what I had before.  Still, it is strange to be moving here today.”

“Why is that?”

“Don’t you know what day this is?”

“Why, no.  I was wondering why no one was here, though.”

“It’s Thanksgiving, Gord.”

Gord was puzzled.  “Thanksgiving?  Wasn’t that last month?”

Penny laughed again.  “Not here.  Today is the day when… well, when everyone gets together to have a meal and gives thanks for what they have.”

“I see.  Why, we should celebrate it, then.”

Penny gave Gord a funny look.  “You are more than silly.  You’ve over there and I’m in here.”

“Why, we’ll have to change that.”

Much to Penny’s surprise, Gord walked to the back of his home and disappeared into what Penny figured was a small cave.  To her even greater surprise, a few moments later she heard the door in her cage opening, followed by the sight of Gord’s head sticking out.  He smiled and said, “Why, hello again.”

“But how… how did you get over here?” stammered Penny as she flew down to where Gord was.

“Why, I walked, of course.”

“But how did you get out of your home?”

Gord smiled again.  “Follow me and I’ll show you.”  With that Gord pulled his head back and reached out with his paw to hold the door open as Penny carefully walked through.  Now behind the aviary, she followed Gord a few feet to what looked like a large rock.  He pushed it aside, revealing a tunnel.

“The zookeepers have many of these to get around,” said Gord as he walked into the tunnel, Penny following behind.  “Luckily, they’re big enough for me, and the zookeepers don’t know I know they’re here.”  He chuckled a little as he added, “They also don’t know the door to one at the back of my little cave only looks like I can’t open it.  And here we are.”  Gord pushed open a door, and after walking through his cave both Gord and Penny were in Gord’s home.

“Over here.”  Gord motioned to his untouched meal.  “Why, I’m not certain what these red berries are, but I hear they’re very tasty.  Please, try one.”

“But then what will you eat?”

Gord smiled.  “Why, I was going to skip today.  There’s a bit too much bear right now.  Please, try one.”

While cranberries were hardly Penny’s dietary mainstay, for the sake of being polite she did try one.  To her surprise, it was good.  She looked up at Gord and smiled.  “Thank you.”

“Why, you’re welcome.”

Penny dipped down to eat another cranberry.  When she came back up, to her surprise she noticed a worried look on Gord’s face.

“You’re not afraid I’m going to eat them all, are you?  I’m done now.”

“No, it’s not that.  Why, you may have them all if you wish.  It’s that… well… you’re not going to fly away, are you?  Nothing is preventing you.”

Penny smiled.  “Silly bear.  I’m not going anywhere.  I’d rather stay here.”

“Why, that’s wonderful… but wouldn’t you rather be outside?”

Penny’s smile faded as she replied, “No.  But let’s not talk about it now.  Some day, perhaps.”  Her smile returned as she added, “Besides, I have my buddy Cherie here.  And a silly bear, too.”

Gord smiled in relief.  “Why, that is so kind of you, Penny.”  With that the two headed back to Gord’s cave so Penny could return to her new home, from where she and Gord spent the day chatting and laughing across the path Penny now knew didn’t really separate her from her new friend.

Gord smiled as his friend Cherie the thrasher flew into his home.  His smile quickly disappeared as he noticed the distraught look on her face.

“Why, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she unconvincingly replied, her head down.

Gord knew better.  “Come now.  You can tell the silly old bear.”

Cherie smiled a little at Gord’s referring to himself with what she often called him.  “Well… oh, it’s really nothing.  Especially to you.”

“Why, nothing bothering a friend is nothing to me.  Please, what’s wrong?”

“It’s not something I can do anything about, but… well, winter’s almost here.  I imagine you’re glad for that, but it’s hardly my favorite time of the year.”

Gord smiled.  “Actually, I don’t like winter either.”

Cherie looked up at Gord with a start.  “But you’re a polar bear!”

“That I am,” replied Gord.  “But you see, winter reminds me of where I’m from, and even with my friends here there are times I’d much prefer to be back there.  Why, winter here is long and dreary, with everyone hiding or doing nothing the whole of the time.  It’s much better during the spring and summer and fall, when people are about and active.  Then we can all get together and share… well, whenever the zookeeper isn’t looking.”

Lowering his voice, Gord continued, “I must tell you, whenever I see him trying to shoo you away for being a common bird, it makes me quite upset.  I fear one day I will completely lose my temper and address him directly about this matter, even if it means ignoring what I was always taught about not letting the humans know I can talk.”

“It’s not just me, you know.  He’s rude to even the others that live here, even the birds.”

Gord nodded.  “I know.”

Cherie smiled.  “You know, except for those noisy bears next door, all the other animals think of you as something of a leader.”

Gord stared at Cherie, a stunned look on his face.  “Why, that’s preposterous!  I’m no leader.  I’m just a bear.”

“A bear who defends his friends and speaks his mind.”

Gord uncomfortably shuffled his front paws.  “Why… well… I don’t know.  I’m just me.  But if others take something worthwhile from that… why, I’m glad.”

“I’m glad too, silly old bear.”

Gord sat back on his haunches for a moment, lost in thought.  Then suddenly, he smiled.  “Why, I have an idea.  We’ll beat those winter blues.”

“How?”

“We’ll dance them away.”

With a puzzled look Cherie replied, “Dance?”

“Yes, dance.  You and me.  We’ll dance them away.”

“Silly old bear.  How are we supposed to do that?  I’m not exactly nimble on my feet, and even if I were you and I aren’t exactly built for ballrooms.”

“How?  Like this.”  With that Gord scooped up a startled Cherie in one of his front paws.  Cradling her gently, he gently swayed his paw back and forth, occasionally bobbing it up and down while softly singing as Cherie laughed.

“You’re not a silly old bear.  You’re the absolute silliest old bear ever.”

“Why, that I am,” Gord replied.  “Yes, that I am.”  With that he resumed dancing with his friend as he sang:

Your imagination’s having puppies
It could be a video for new recruits…

It was a grey afternoon; one mottled with showers spaced just far enough apart to offer hope of their ending before the next one came along.  Gord the polar bear sat in the back of his home, looking out.  He sighed, for days such as today kept the visitors away, and days without visitors were dreary indeed.

His face brightened as his friend Cherie the thrasher flew in and landed next to him.  “Why, hello,” he said.

“Hiya yourself, silly old bear.”

“You must have me mistaken for Winston a couple of doors over.”

Cherie laughed as Gord smiled at his modest joke.  “Make that very silly old bear.”

Gord feigned offense.  “I’m not that old.”

“To me you are.  Anyway, anything new?”

“I’m afraid not.  Those bears next door are still such an embarrassment.”

“At least the really noisy one left,” Cherie commented.

“That’s true,” replied Gord.  “Now they have a bunch more bears in his place.  A couple of them are all right, but there’s this one who’s in his own way is as bad as the noisy one.”

“I know which one you mean — the stuck-up one?”

“Exactly.  He’s always acting so high and mighty, talking down to everyone.  But when he thinks no one is looking, he gives these false apologies and acts all chummy.  A little too chummy, really — he says some very inappropriate things when he thinks everyone isn’t listening.”

“I know how that goes,” Cherie sighed.  “Some of the animals here can be very condescending because I’m just a common bird.  And a girl to boot.”

“Why, they don’t know what they’re talking about!  There’s nothing common about you.  You’re a wonderful, talented, attractive young bird.”

Cherie smiled and lowered her head.  “Now I know you’re silly.  But thank you.”

“I do hope the other animals don’t think we’re ignoring them or acting like those other bears when we talk together.”

Cherie laughed out loud.  “With you around?  Not a chance.  You’d invite the zookeeper to be a friend given half a chance, even as much as he either ignores you or is rude toward you.”

Gord blushed, or at least came as close as a polar bear can to blushing.  “I’m not that nice.  But once in a while, I at least try to be.”

“Yes, you can be very trying, silly old bear… okay, the other silly old bear.”

Gord smiled as together he and his friend watched the rain start up again.