Although she’s proud of what I do, I know my mother wishes I studied something smaller and a lot less carnivorous. Like bunnies. Or apples. While working, I've often found myself shaking my head, glad my mother wasn't around to see something. One particular day stands out to me because it was the first time I thought it on this project.
I was crashing through a tangle of bushes taller than me. The only time I could see over them was when I stood on a fallen tree or stump. I didn’t think much of it when I heard the brush crack somewhere down the slope and to my left. I figured I’d spooked something. But as the cracking got louder and closer, I thought maybe I should check things out.
Pretty sure it was a deer, I jumped on a stump and stood on my tiptoes. When I caught the undulating movement of a dark brown back, I knew it wasn’t a deer. It was a bear. And it was heading straight for me.
So what did I do?
I yelled, “Hey bear!” and stuck my arms in the air so it could see me. Instantly, the crashing noise stopped. A second later, two brown ears popped up. They weren’t more than ten feet away. Then they disappeared and the crashing started again. But this time in the opposite direction.
I sighed, yelled down the hill at my techs to let them know a bear might be coming their way, then smiled. That was the first bear I’d seen that year. Granted I only saw his back and his ears, but it was pretty cool. Then I laughed, and thought, “Thank God my mother wasn’t here to see this.”
