The French River in Ontario, Canada, was my father and grandfather's favorite fishing place (see post) before Dad decided to have a second house at Put-In-Bay, Ohio. The twelve to fourteen hours it took for us to get there was excruciating for two young kids but Mom managed to keep us entertained with games, coloring, and stories.
Mom was a reader and a great storyteller. I look back and wonder sometimes if the some of the stories she told were made up just to try to keep my brother and me in line. One vacation night we had some popcorn from the lodge that was a part of the grounds where our cabin was. We brought it back to eat and sat on the porch of our cabin for a while enjoying it. But as with all active children, we sat it down and took off to another adventure.
The popcorn remained on the porch, forgotten but still fresh enough for its smell to carry through the woods. That night after we were tuckered out and tucked in fast asleep, my mother said she was reading at the table inside when suddenly the whole cabin started shaking. She was afraid to move but when she finally got up to investigate with flashlight in hand, she saw that there was popcorn scattered all about the porch. She concluded that a big grizzly bear had decided to feast on our forgotten popcorn.
Now there are a few snags to this story. First of all it was nearly impossible to read by the dim oil lamp. Where was my dad and grandfather in all this? And why weren't they awakened by the shaking and noise if it was so great? The question remains, was there really a bear or did Mom just want to make sure we would clean up our leftovers in the future?
Mom was a reader and a great storyteller. I look back and wonder sometimes if the some of the stories she told were made up just to try to keep my brother and me in line. One vacation night we had some popcorn from the lodge that was a part of the grounds where our cabin was. We brought it back to eat and sat on the porch of our cabin for a while enjoying it. But as with all active children, we sat it down and took off to another adventure.
The popcorn remained on the porch, forgotten but still fresh enough for its smell to carry through the woods. That night after we were tuckered out and tucked in fast asleep, my mother said she was reading at the table inside when suddenly the whole cabin started shaking. She was afraid to move but when she finally got up to investigate with flashlight in hand, she saw that there was popcorn scattered all about the porch. She concluded that a big grizzly bear had decided to feast on our forgotten popcorn.
Now there are a few snags to this story. First of all it was nearly impossible to read by the dim oil lamp. Where was my dad and grandfather in all this? And why weren't they awakened by the shaking and noise if it was so great? The question remains, was there really a bear or did Mom just want to make sure we would clean up our leftovers in the future?
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