Victor the Bear

Posted by Brad Osborne on September 29, 2021 · 20 Comments 

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I, like many, grew up with an older brother, Mark, who was the bane to my youth. Seven years older, always much bigger (eventually topping out at 6’ 2”, 220 pounds), and consistently entertained by my torment. No matter how hard I tried, I could never seem to best him in anything or have any revenge. I could punch him with all my strength, and he would just laugh.

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As fate would have it, our father was a Free Mason and both my brother and I were in the Fraternal Order of DeMolay, a preparatory youth version for boys from twelve to twenty-one. At one of the events they held for fund-raising, they were going to have a live bear that brave souls could chance to wrestle. I know this sounds crazy in this day and age, but back then entertainment did not all come on digital devices. My ever-so-arrogant brother immediately decides he will test this bear. It may have been the one time in my life where I felt like my prayers were answered and I was betting heavily on the bear. I wanted nothing more than to see my brother eaten by a bear. Sounds horrible when you say it, but that is what I had been driven to.

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The fateful evening came, and I was electric with excitement. My brother got some last-minute instructions from the handler and then walked in to face a bear that had been declawed and was muzzled. So much for Mark getting eaten, but still the bear looked twice his size, so my wager still seemed prudent. Mark made a fine show of it taunting and grappling for a bit, but when the bear had enough, he easily swatted him across the mat. Though Mark escaped uninjured, it was still a glorious victory for the bear and vicariously for yours truly. That bear became the hero of my youth.

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In the time we had together before he passed, we recalled some of these unforgettable moments of our lives together. I shared with him how tremendously I had favored the bear. Oddly, it was a little disappointing to hear that, from his perspective, he thought he had won against the bear. I assured him that his thinking was flawed but didn’t demand a rematch. I still love that bear!

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A FB post taken from my brother’s page, posted May 29, 2014 for Throw Back Thursday:

“Not the best pic ever taken, but somewhere there in the middle is me in a blue shirt wrestling “Victor the Bear”. It was at the old Outdoors Show at the Farm Show Arena around the early ’80’s. Witnessed by my brother, my friend Mike Harclerode and my ex-wife….and no matter how THEY tell the story, I whooped that bears arse.”

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Filed under General · Tagged with bear, eaten by a bear, entertainment, family, funny, humor, love, memories, older brother, perspective, revenge, siblings, story, wrestle, youth