HERE'S A RITIN FRUM
FOR DECEMBER 1999
Here's wat tyme it is in Dallus, Texus wear I live:
FOR DECEMBER 1999
Hi, evrybudy. This is Old Bear ritin 2 U agin and the musik U hear playin is sort of a Christmusy winter song that is sumpn abowt a slay ryde. A slay is sort of like a big sled with seats in it and a horse pulls it and the horse usually has bells on it sew peples will know it is cumin. Here's a pitcher of a 1 horse open slay.
I don't have no xcitin things 2 rite about this month cus me and my man didn't do much of anything. We didn't even du much 4 Turkey Day. My man sed he wus purty much thankful that he didn't have 2 get dressed and go sumwear. And he sed he wus speshully thankful he didn't have 2 eat turkey cus he don't lyke turkey very much.
One purty xcitin thing wus the reel nyce e-mail ritin I got frum a nu gud frend named Elizabeth.
Dear Mr. Bear,
This is Elizabeth. I wanted to go to Disney.com this morning but my mom said look at Old Bear first. We read your November story first and I kept asking, "Is he a real bear?" and "Did he really write that?" My mommy told me that you are a real bear just like some bears I have in my bedroom and that you get help from someone to write your stories.
The story and pictures I liked best this month were about the duck boat. My mom and dad brought home a magnet and a keychain with the duck on it and then showed me pictures of the duck they rode on. They liked it alot, too.
We went to your July 1999 stories and my birthday is on firecracker day just like your Uncle Dick. I started laughing hard when I saw that cat on the record player going around and around!
Well, I will visit you again soon. I still want to go to Disney.com, but I will tell my friends about Old Bear.
Elizabeth, age 6
Wusn't that a nice ritin Elizabeth sent me. I rote her rite bak to tell her I wus a reel teddy bear just lyke the ones she had in her bedroom and I sent her a speshul pitcher of me sew she culd have her mama print it out and she culd show it 2 her frends.
Me and my man met Elizabeth's momma on the ayrplane wen we were
standin up in the ayrplane waiting to get off of it after gittin back frum
Boston and she wanted 2 no all abowt me and my man told her abowt my ritins
and she give him her e-mail address sew he culd send her my ritins. She rote bak sayin she shure did lyke my ritins and wus goin 2 tell her dawter about them. It shure is fun 2 get e-mail.
Did u no that my gramma who lives in Ilnoyze is goin 2 be 92 on the firstust day of December. That shure sounds old
but I guess bein over 70 lyke me and my man are is getting purty close to bein 92. My gramma lives in a place called a nursin home and she lykes it purty well cus they treat her reel gud and give her lots of gud things 2 eat. Every nite about 8 or 9 oclock sumbudy kums 2 give her sum pudding and sum juice and maybe a cookie or 2. My gramma shure dus lyke 2 eat. She has a hard tyme membering lots of things but I guess she always members when it is puddin and juice time.
My aunt Mary kalled us on the telfone the other day 2 tell us my gramma is goin 2 be on the GOOD MORNING AMERICA tv show sumtyme reel soon. Seems like the tv peples kum 2 wear my gramma lives 2 du a tv story about nursin homes and they did sumpn kalled 'interviewed' my gramma. I don't know when U kan see the program but it will be about the TOULON HEALTH CARE CENTER in Toulon, Ilnoyze and my gramma's name is Bonnie Sage sew U jist keep lukin and maybe you'll C her.
Me and my man r goin 2 go C my gramma sumtyme purty soon. He sed it wuld be in the spring-time when it is getting warm and reel purty in Ilnoyze. That shure will be nyce cus I'll get 2 c my aunt Mary and uncle Jerry agin 2. My aunt Mary and my uncle Jerry will have been married 50 years on December 16 or maybe December 15 but somewhere around that time. That shure is a long tyme. My man sed that if his wife named Peggye hadn't died back in 1983 they would only been married 43 years.
My man sez he is havin a hard tyme tryin 2 decide wat kind of trips we ought 2 du wen it is the nu 2000 year. I know we r goin 2 Spain agin in Septiembre (that's a Spanish wurd). My man has been lukin and lukin at magazines with travel things in them and he sez we could go to Mexico again or maybe Alaska agin or even China cus he got a magazine tellin abowt wat it kosts 2 go 2 China. It kosts a hole lot. He sez he is getting sew konfused abowt all the playces we culd go that he guesses maybe we'll jist stay home cept 4 goin 2 Spain. We'll get 2 go back to Gibralter and maybe I'll get 2 C the lady agin who sold me my nice blue sweater. She shure wus nyce. That's the sweater I'm wearin in the pitcher at the top of this ritin.
I know sumpn that is sort of excitin 2 me but my man don't think it is so excitin. He got a letter sayin one of his poums is bein published in a big book of poums. He laffed purty hard wen he got the letter cus if he wants to reed it in the buk he will have 2 buy the buk and that will kost him fifty dollars and another twenty five dollars if he wants to include sumpn kalled an "Artists Profile" in the buk sew peples wuld no who he is. These peples will also glue his poum 2 a piece of wood kalled a plaque for another 38 dollars.
My man sed he kan reed his poum anytyme he wants without paying 75 dollars 4 it. He sed wat happened wus that jist 4 fun he sent this favorite poum 2 a kontest thing and wus a winner cus how gud the poum wus. He laffed abowt that and sed that most lykely if he had sent in a poum that sed roses are red, sugar is sweet, reed this poum and get a treat, well he wuld have won then, too. Sew he don't take this winnin thing 2 seriously.
Here's the poum that is goin 2 be printed in the buk.
Life is like children on a swing.
We have both our highs and lows.
Back and forth - up and down
That's really the way it goes.
We can swing all by ourselves I know.
All we have to do is try.
But swinging with another is the best
For then we can reach the sky.
And when from our peak we come down
It may not be the end.
For there is that expected push
From the one we call our friend.
But there must always come a time
When our friend must go
To leave us swinging by ourself;
Back and forth - to and fro.
Surely there will be another day
To swing up to the sky.
But this one was the very best
Until our friend said "Goodbye!"
My man sez this is one of his favoritus poums cus he rote it wen he wus purty sad cus a reel gud frend wus goin away.
I shure hope U have a good Christmus tyme with lots of presunts under the Christmus tree and U B careful drivin 2 ur gramma's house cus drivin in a car sure isn't as safe as goin there in a 1 horse open slay used 2 B.
Wat r u goin 2 b duin New Year's Eve? We aren't goin 2 a party or anything lyke that. My man sed we wuld be 'partyin' by filling up water jugs jist in case that Y2K bug bites the water place. I think he sorta hopes sumpn happens 4 maybe 3 or 2 days sew he can use his stove and lamp that runs off a bottle of sumpn kalled propane. Anyway, Happy Nu Century 2 u.
