WHITTLE: Crockett not only Tennessean to whip a bear

 

WHITTLE: Crockett not only Tennessean to whip a bear

April 08, 2012

DAN WHITTLE, Post Columnist 

As the Volunteer State's black bear population grows, as verified recently by Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency experts, the trail of good tales is expanding too. Bears have proliferated to the point, back in the mid-1990s, the late C.L. Vickers and some Bradyville-area neighbors confirmed a bear sighting in a pasture filled with livestock. There were also confirmed reports of bears spotted in the Milton and Christiana areas of Rutherford County. More recently, two bears have been killed by vehicles on Interstate 40 in and near Cookeville.Since earliest U.S. history, bear legends, some true and untrue, have proliferated in Tennessee, including the likes of the legendary Davy Crockett, who reportedly "killed a bar" back in his youthful days in East Tennessee.The following is a modern-day bear-fighting legend. How a mountain man formerly known as "Hulk" became known as "Bear" is the stuff of which Cumberland Mountain legends are born. Here are the bear facts, so pull up a nail keg and enjoy the journey. "You gotta have a strategy," explained Barry "Bear" Vinson, whose claim to fame echoes forever in his beautiful native Upper Cumberland mountain setting. Recognized as "a big mountain of a man," ole' Bear bared his bear-fighting soul with me when we shared newspaper employment in the 1990s. He was a Murfreesboro newspaper's circulation manager.

As a newspaper columnist, for me, he was a dream-come-true.Having a lifelong interest in origin of names and nicknames, it was only natural that I inquired how he came to be called Bear."It was 1979, when I was a young lad at about age 20, when some of my buddies and I went to annual Old Timers Day at the White County Fair in Sparta," Bear said about his pre-bear fighting days. "My buddies dared me to fight a 720-pound bear named Ginger that measured at least 8 feet tall when standing on her back legs." And that's not stretching the bear's dimensions. Barry, no small man, was known as Hulk prior to climbing into the ring to grapple with a grizzly, whose trainer bragged and billed his bear as having never been defeated by a mere mortal man. "! was a big bear of a guy myself, but I weighed only 250 pounds, which was big enough to play on the offensive line at Tennessee Tech in nearby Cookeville," he described. "So, I wasn't afraid of much, but the idea of wrestling this bear made me nervous. "To combat "pre-bear-rasslin" jitters, Hulk said he previewed his furry opponent, which had never lost to a man. "In my scouting, I noticed that Ginger, the bear, would immediately charge her human adversary upon his entering the ring," he said. He claims to do his "best bear-fighting thinking" in the woods. "I went in seclusion up at a friends' cabin on Short Mountain, in the quiet of the woods over the line in Cannon County. That's where I strategized. On the scheduled day of the big fight, I got on my game face, to implement my strategy," Bear recalled. "It took that long to get my nerves under control... "Meanwhile, drama was building throughout mountain towns as folks heard that he was going to grapple with a grizzly. "I noted that the second a man got in the ring, Ginger would charge," he recounted. "And the man didn't have time to do anything but yell for someone to get that big bear off of him. "He said his "strategizing" on Short Mountain paid off. "I decided to change things up a little and try to surprise the bear," he recalled. "Instead of stepping into the ring, I dove through the ropes to the other side. Ginger came at me, immediately, swinging her arms and big paws, which had been declawed, but the bear could land a powerful wallop with her big arms and paws. "A hush immediately swept over the crowd of bear-fight spectators. But then, cheers echoed through the mountains as he made his move on the bear. "| reverted back to my football training. I got my feet spread and shoulders squared up, and kept moving," Bear reported. "I kept moving, you know, to stay out of the bear's reach. "| finally managed to get Ginger to stand down on all four of her feet, when I suddenly climbed on her back," he noted. "The bear tried repeatedly to knock me off my own feet, but I kept them out of her reach. "Bear-fighting drama was building. "Ginger stood up, and I dove at her feet, and was able to flip the giant grizzly over my back. That ole' bear hit the ground with a loud 'thud," he said. But, the bear wasn't through."' decided to do the exact same move again, again flipping her over my back," Bear added. "This time, Ginger got up, but she went back to her own corner of the ring, and sat down. Her trainer started poking her, trying to force her to come back out and fight some more. But that brave ole' bear began growling at him, so the trainer ended our fight." He said the trainer informed him and his buddies that he would never again let Ginger enter the wrestling ring with him. "He needn't worry, for I wasn't about to climb back in that ring,” Bear confirmed. "Besides, in looking back in reflection, I don't think it right for a man to fight beasts. But I remember feeling like little biblical David in the battle with the giant Goliath.” Bear-fighting records indicate Ginger had more than 10,000 fights with men, with her only loss coming to Bear, the now legendary grandson of the late Monroe and Pansie Cole, whose ancestors helped settle the unincorporated community known as Coles Chapel located near Burgess Falls in White County. In 2006, Bear moved back to his beloved mountains to start a computer business after retiring from the newspaper business. Today, Bear is permanently etched in the fabric of Cumberland Mountain bear-fighting legends.

Mother’s Day 2019

Enjoy these bible verses and Scripture about mom's love, sacrifice and hard work.

Deuteronomy 4:9

9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Proverbs 31:10-30

10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. 15 She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants. 16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. 18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. 19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. 20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. 21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. 22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. 25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

Proverbs 19:26-27

26 Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child who brings shame and disgrace. 27 Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge. 

Mark 10:29-30

29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.
Matthew 15:4-6

4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 

Ephesians 6:1-3

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” 

Exodus 20:12

12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. 

Deuteronomy 5:16

16 “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you. 

Proverbs 1:8-9

8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 9 They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
Proverbs 6:20-21

20 My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 21 Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. 

Proverbs 23:22-24

22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. 23 Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well. 24 The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. 

Genesis 21:1-3

1 Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. 

Luke 1:5-6

5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 

Luke 1:46-48

46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
John 19:25-27

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. 

Deuteronomy 4:9-10

9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” 

Proverbs 22:6

6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

WHAT I BELIEVE...

WHAT I BELIEVE…

By Brother Bear Vinson

Written: 5/17/1981

 

I Believe... A Birth Certificate shows that we were born; A Death Certificate shows that we died and pictures showed that we lived!

I Believe... That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe... We don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

 
I Believe... That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
 
I Believe... True friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
 
I Believe... You can do something in an instant that will give you heartaches for life.
 
I Believe... That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
 
I Believe... You should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
 
I Believe… You can keep going long after you think you can't.
 
I Believe... We are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
 
I Believe... That either you control your attitude or it controls you.
 
I Believe... Heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
 
I Believe... That money is a lousy way of keeping score.
 
I Believe... My best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
 
I Believe... Sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up!
 
I Believe... Sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
 
I Believe... Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
 

 I Believe... That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others; sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

 
I Believe... No matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
 
I Believe... Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are. But, we are responsible for the person to whom we’ve become.
 
I Believe... You shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret, it could change your life forever!
 
I Believe... Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
 
I Believe… Your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.
 
I Believe... At the point you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out for your help – you will find the strength to help.
 
I Believe... Credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
 
I Believe… The people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.
 
I Believe… The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything.

I Believe… Life is not about how many precious moments you have; But, rather the precious moments you make within someone else’s life.

I Believe… A dinner for two will accomplish more than a setting of one.

I Believe… Loneliness is over rated, EVERYONE needs a break every once in a while to clean your head, hands, heart and health!

I Believe… People who help us navigate life’s journey are ‘Angels’ amongst us.

I Believe… Angels guide and guard us; the man who pulls a baby from inside a burning vehicle, or the lady who guided us in the right direction keeping us away from harm.

I Believe… There is a special garden in heaven for sick and neglected children to play.

I Believe… Earth’s greatest untapped treasure lies in human personalities!

 

I Believe... Stupidity is a choice; because we have freedom of choice and elect not to increase our knowledge... That's foolishness by default!  

 

 

Why I Carry a Gun

Why I Carry a Gun

by Bear Vinson

12/15/1999
 
My old grandpa said to me 'Son, there comes a time
in every man's life when he stops bustin' knuckles
and starts bustin' caps and usually it's when he
becomes too old to take an ass whoopin.'

I don't carry a gun to kill people.
I carry a gun to keep from being killed.

I don't carry a gun to scare people.
I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be
a scary place.

I don't carry a gun because I'm paranoid.
I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world..
 
I don't carry a gun because I'm evil.
I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to
see the evil in the world.
 
I don't carry a gun because I hate the government.
I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.
 
I don't carry a gun because I'm angry.
I carry a gun so that I don't have to spend the rest of
my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.
 
I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone.
I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age
in my bed, and not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.
 
I don't carry a gun because I'm a cowboy.
I carry a gun because, when I die and go to heaven,
I want to be a cowboy.
 
I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man.
I carry a gun because men know how to take care of
themselves and the ones they love.
 
I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate.
I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed
thugs, I am inadequate.
 
I don't carry a gun because I love it.
I carry a gun because I love life and the people who
make it meaningful to me.
 
Police protection is an oxymoron.
Free citizens must protect themselves.
Police do not protect you from crime, they usually
just investigate the crime after it happens and then
call someone in to clean up the mess.
Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die
and too old to take an ass whoopin'.

Corporal Punishment and Our Children

Many times as parents we think our children are way too young to understand what they actually see. That's why we as adults must be vigilant in NOT allowing our children to see adults fight or physically raise a hand to one another in anger! Children EVEN learn from watching television and or movies that we may be watching with or without them... Our children are little sponges! They are our next ...generation of natural resources (no pun intended) sad but true.

However, on the other hand NEVER hit a child in anger with an open hand PERIOD! We must define and be able to communicate the bad behavior this first time in order to gain control. Explain that children DO NOT hit or strike their parents EVER!

Bring the child under control by holding their arms in a non threatening position at their sides while explaining that we DON'T hit mommy or daddy; if they persist tell them we practice corporal punishment in this household. This entails a belt to the back side according to the severity of the infraction.

Communicate with your child prior to the actual act happening what the repeat circumstances would call for. DON'T tell a child you going to use the belt or paddle and then use idle threats. When I told my child they were going to get two licks with the belt I did what I said I was going to do. Then I asked them to tell me why they got a spanking? Once they explained to me why they received their spanking I dropped the matter because I knew they understood.

Enough said I didn't dwell on the act any longer once they received their punishment for their infraction and I dropped the matter totally.

We as adults over analyze things and browbeat our kids way too much. The mental abuse of going on and on sometimes is relentless and demeaning! Punishment should be swift and decisive; nonnegotiable!

I always told my kids... The Doctors run the insane asylum NOT the patient... LOL! Everything a child learns comes from his parents his family his love ones and especially his friends... Once they are 18 they can make their own choices outside our homes as adults! Amen

Bear Wrestling at it's Best

What's the stupidest thing you've ever done in your life? I'm sure you have one. If not, then I've got more than enough for both of us. Next week marks the 25th anniversary of the absolute epic moment of stupidity in my life. It was more than stupid. It was stupid-and-a-half.
In the summer of 1981 a just-a-bit-seedier-than-a-carny guy came through the doors of the Prescott Journal in Prescott, Ontario, where I was enslaved as a summer student at a buck-fifty an hour. God bless ya Dad. I know he's smiling and looking down at me saying, "Yeah, son, but that was 1981 money..."

The poster said that "Big Time Wrestling" was coming to the Prescott Community Centre, now the Leo Boivin Arena. All of the big names were coming. Whipper Watson Junior, The Sheik, a couple of fat, bald, hairy Slavic dudes, and the headliner, Ginger the Wrestling Bear.
So Steve Bonisteel, our editor, tagteamed with Bruce Hayes, and they tapped right into my unstable craving for making a complete idiot of myself in public.
"Come on, Jeff, you always said you liked George Plimpton," said Steve.
"Yeah," Bruce jumped in. "I bet George Plimpton never wrestled a real bear before."
Within seconds Steve was on the phone with the Big Time Wrestling promoter/poster guy/busdriver/janitor/surgeon. He hung up the phone and had a big smile and this Chucky-becomes-an-editor look on is face.
"It's all set up," he beamed. "You will be the volunteer from the audience to fight Ginger."
What have I done now? Ohhhhh crap!
Wednesday night arrived -- those six days went quickly -- and the Leo was filled to the rafters with the townsfolk of Prescott. Remember, this was before specialty channels. You had to actually leave your home to see a good sociological train wreck, like the one I was about to be.
I was destined to become an urban legend that night, shredded to death by this huge, ugly, smelly, shaggy, beast being swarmed by flies. Did I say huge?
So I'm there in the ring, wondering why I can't swallow, hoping I don't soil myself in front of the whole town, looking at this thing. The bear's trainer, a slightly bigger and smellier and shaggier man than Ginger who was likely a retired wrestling bear himself, approached me gruffly.
"She's declawed, but she can still hurt you so be careful. Don't go near her head because the muzzle isn't fastened, it just slips on. Don't pull her hair, that makes her mad. When you're ready, just walk into her. When I give her a signal, she will pin you. Just let her and you will be okay."
Walk into her? For all the times I fought through ADD in my life, this was the one moment I wish I actually hadn't been paying attention.
So I "walked into Ginger", and the huge, hairy trainer holding Ginger on a chain made this primal sound and the beast rose majestically onto its hind legs, scaring away the hundred or so flies buzzing around its face, and thudded its enormous paws onto my not-so-big-after-all shoulders.
Standing up, Ginger was almost eight feet tall. I reached up and put my arms on the bear's shoulders, and we looked like two kids slow dancing at their first sixth grade sock hop. Actually, that was slightly more frightening than wrestling a bear.

Then, without warning, the big hairy man gave a signal, and in a flash, I was flat on my back, looking at the light fixtures, while Ginger started to climb on top of me for the pin.
Realizing my moment of glory was nearly over and I had yet to make a worthy spectacle or idiot of myself, I panicked. You see, I was a wrestling fan, and I knew what to do. I was near the ropes at the side of the ring, and I quickly rolled onto my side and started pounding the mat, feigning agony, just like wrestlers and soccer players do on TV. My leg was also on the bottom rope, which nullifies the pin. Those are the rules in wrestling. I mean real wrestling, not that crappy, boring kind they do in high school and the Olympics.
So I got up, and figuring this would be the only time I would ever be in a wrestling ring in my life, I started running around and bouncing off the ropes, stopping occasionally to flex my disproportionately chicken-like arms.
I went back and forth, and Ginger was getting a little worked up and the big hairy man started yelling at me to stop.
Ginger was trying to follow me around and was getting tangled in the chain and was getting upset and confused. The trainer looked at me, with foam leaking out of the corner of his mouth and yellowing, angry eyes with Wal-Mart Lab red-eye.
"What do you think this is, a comedy show?" he barked. Evidently, he didn't get the memo. He dug his heels in and fought in waterski position to try and control the bear, but I didn't care. I was driven by adrenaline from the roar of the crowd, even if they were all laughing at me, not with me.
Even my mild-mannered and very proper grandfather was standing along the boards of the arena pounding the glass with his fists while laughing uncontrollably at me.
Big Bear gave Ginger her only loss. Photo ©2006 Morris.
Eventually, the bear trainer calmed me down enough so that I could grapple with Ginger a bit more, though I'm sure he let the bear take a few liberties at me. She seemed a lot rougher and more aggressive the second time around and swatted me around pretty good.
He gave the signal again, and wham, I was down. This time, I let the beast pin me, not wanting to freak it out. The fact that Ginger was rubbing her head against my side, trying to slip the muzzle off, while I lay on my back with a tree trunk size leg and paw on me kind of added to the "thrill" of the experience.
I immediately thought of all those stories you read, you know, "Camper mauled to death by bear". I lay there, helpless, thinking of how much fun the Journal staff could have if Ginger would have worked the muzzle off and went Siegfried and Roy on my throat.
Ginger took on more comers that night. Bill Martineau gave it a try, and then Steve Dring, a brilliant soccer player, got in and lasted several minutes with Ginger before he was finally pinned.
Ginger's only loss
Over the years, Ginger took on thousands of bozos like me in small towns across North America throughout the 1980s.
But one of those bozos, a larger-than-life animated character named Barry "Bear" Vinson of Sparta, Tennessee, actually beat Ginger in the ring. In over 10,000 matches, Ginger lost only once. Bear Vinson, now 46, put the smackdown on Ginger back in 1980.
"There was this elderly gentleman with Ginger as a sideshow at the local fair," said the Bear with his thick, southern drawl from his home in Tennessee. "People were lined up to wrassle that thing, and my friend said to me '‘Bear, y'all gotta get in there and wrassle that bear.' I just looked at him and said, 'I ain't gonna wrassle no dang bear.'"
Bear Vinson was no ordinary 20-year-old. Nicknamed the Hulk, he was a big, strapping lad who played offensive line at Tennessee Tech. He bench pressed 575 pounds and he could squat 1400 pounds. In the days before steroid use, these numbers are staggering. Bear was also undefeated at the state level as an arm wrestler. If anyone could take out Ginger, it was Bear.
"I watched that dang bear for three days," said Bear. "I studied it and I watched it, and then I figured I would give it a try, but figured I'd change things up. You know, surprise her."
It was oldtimers day at the fair that day, and Bear was wearing overalls. The trainer had been smashing watermelons on the ground for Ginger to eat, and Bear noticed how slick the floor was and that Ginger's opponents couldn't get any footing -- not that it would matter.
"Instead of just climbing through the ropes, I dove through them, right into the ring, said Bear, who I could tell was wishing he could demonstrate it even though we were talking on the phone. "She came right at me and was swinging her big arms. Even though she was declawed, she slashed my chest pretty good. But out of sheer terror, I just did what we were trained to do in football. Keep your feet shoulder width apart, and keep them moving. I tried not to get to close to her where she could hurt me and get an advantage."
Bear managed to get Ginger on all fours, and then he pounced on her back. Ginger started swiping her big paws at his feet, but he kept backpedaling away from her swats."
Bear got Ginger up and then went at her feet. Somehow, he managed to flip ginger over his back, and the great Alaskan bear landed with a thud.
"She fell, but she got up swinging at me," Bear explained. "And I did the same thing and she flipped over me again."Ginger got up and just walked over to her corner and sat down. "She wouldn't get back up," said Bear. "The trainer came up to me and said he wouldn't allow me to wrassle her no more. I said to him don't worry, ‘cause I don't wanna wrassle no dang bear no more. I figured it's just one of them things you get to tell your kids about some day."
Bear's legend grew in Sparta, but outside of the town, many doubted his 725-pound tale. Even his ex-wife, a doctor, had her doubts, until a client came in who happened to be from Sparta. When the girl found out that her doctor was married to Bear, the story was confirmed.
"She came home and said 'I thought you was just jokin', but this girl came in and she didn't know me from diddly, and she said it was true.' In Sparta, that's how I got my nickname, Bear. That and the fact I was 14 pounds, nine ounces when I was born."
Ouch.
Bear became a computer teacher and has been a motivational speaker, and his story of defeating ginger the Wrestling Bear is one of his favourite ones to tell.
"You always have to believe in yourself and stay positive," he said. "You're dealt a hand of cards every day and you just gotta put your poker face on and do the best you can.
"I walked in there believin' I could beat Ginger, and I sized her up and went in with a plan. It just shows that you can do anything you put your mind to in this world."
After talking to Bear, I thought about my experience in the ring with Ginger. I didn't have a plan. Well, I kind of had a plan, but it was more to act like an idiot than to actually wrestle the bear. Then the plan became not to get killed.
And I don't think a plan would have done much for me. But it worked for Bear Vinson -- a man who earned his nickname the hard way. I guess, in some sort of twisted Freudian way, I overcame a big fear of bears by actually wrestling one.
But as for my other big phobia? There's no bloody way I'll ever get into the ring and wrestle a clown.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story originally appeared in the Prescott Journal, and on Sportsology.net, and is re-printed with permission.

Sherlock Holmes ‘Doctor’ Essay

A Sherlock Holmes, 'Doctor' Essay

In the book "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" Sherlock Holmes believed that "doctor's make the greatest criminals." Holmes himself said: "When a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals. He has nerve and he has knowledge." I agree to Holmes' statement because doctors know of all sorts of medications and poisons that could be used to kill somebody. If they are using a knife or weapon, they would know the vital areas of the human body and doctors are notoriously perfectionists; they make it their business to be careful with even the simplest of steps in practice. Doctors would be "great" because they would take that attention to detail with them and be careful and persistent in the actions, and are trusted in the community.

         It is a doctors job to know a lot about all sorts of medications and poisons that could be used to harm and inflect pain on someone. At that time, it was possible using the chemicals a doctor had access to to make a poison that was undetectable in the corpse. Some poisons were untraceable; detectives could not identify what had killed somebody even if poison had been the cause of death, thus making poison the deadliest weapon around that time period--doctors knowing the most about such substances. To  be a doctor you must study all vital areas of the human body. If doctors wanted to kill someone with a knife or blunt object they would know the most beneficial places to strike the human body. It was suspected that "Jack the Ripper," a notorious murderer, had medical training because of the precision in which some of the organs were removed from his victims. Around that time period, if you were  doctor you would of made the perfect criminal.

         Doctors are very discreet and precise in their actions--for example, if they were doing surgery on a patient and working with vital organs, one centimeter could mean the difference between death and survival. Being a doctor, you almost have to be a perfectionist, making sure you get every single little detail perfect, no matter what your practice is as a doctor. Most criminals around Sherlock Holme's time period were not very smart and would leave vital clues behind during the scene of a crime. However, when Sherlock Holmes was investigating the scene of a crime committed by a Doctor there would be few, if not any clues at all. Doctors obtain their title, "doctor," through hard work, diligence, patience and years of study, and doctors typically have a moderate or high IQs-- all traits that would help a criminal.

         When studying, doctors have to pay attention to every little detail and when committing a crime, the criminal has to pay attention to every little clue that he could possible leave behind. Such observation of scenario, something which doctors are prevalent in doing, is also another trait that would help a criminal get away with a crime. Doctors are also high ranking on the social latter, during Sherlock Holme's time and even until today. Patience usually trusted doctors enough to do risky forms of therapy, either physical or involving medication, that would put the patience life at risk. In fact , "during the 18th century medical sciences were not as advanced in scientific knowledge because the body and its functions were still a mystery" (history1700s.com). For example, doctors around Sherlock Holmes' time period did not sterilize their hands or instruments, a method of disinfection used today, yet people had the faith and trust in them.  Doctors were also socially accepted as "superior" or "smart" people and around that time period would almost certainly never be questioned of a crime.

         Sherlock Holme's conclusion that doctors were the greatest criminals was spot-on. Medicine and sciences during times of Holmes were not as advanced as todays, making it easy for a doctor with enough knowledge to become an almost untraceable criminal. Doctors work with chemicals only accessible by doctors, and can create poisons to inflect on their victims. With a high IQ, precision and other traits that doctors usually possess, it is clearly evident that they would make the greatest criminals.

75 Skills Every Man Should Master

A man can be expert in nothing, but he must be practiced in many things. Skills. You don't have to master them all at once. You simply have to collect and develop a certain number of skills as the years tick by. People count on you to come through. That's why you need these, to start.

1. Give advice that matters in one sentence.
2. Tell if someone is lying.
3. Take a photo. Fill the frame.
4. Score a baseball game.
5. Name a book that matters.
6. Know at least one musical group as well as is possible.
7. Cook meat somewhere other than the grill.
8. Not monopolize the conversation.
9. Write a letter.
10. Buy a suit.
11. Swim three different strokes.
12. Show respect without being a suck-up.
13. Throw a punch.
14. Chop down a tree.
15. Calculate square footage.
16. Tie a bow tie.
17. Make one drink, in large batches, very well.
18. Speak a foreign language.
19. Approach a woman out of his league.
20. Sew a button.
21. Argue with a European without getting xenophobic or insulting soccer.
22. Give a woman an orgasm so that he doesn't have to ask after it.

23. Be loyal.
24. Know his poison, without standing there, pondering like a dope.
25. Drive an eight penny nail into a treated two-by-four without thinking about it.
26. Cast a fishing rod without shrieking or sighing or otherwise admitting defeat.

27. Play gin with an old guy
28. Play go fish with a kid.
29. Understand quantum physics well enough that he can accept that a quarter might, at some point, pass straight through the table when dropped.
30. Feign interest.

31. Make a bed.

32. Describe a glass of wine in one sentence without using the terms nutty, fruity, oaky, finish, or kick.
33. Hit a jump shot in pool.
34. Dress a wound.
35. Jump-start a car, Change a flat tire and Change the oil at least once.

36. Make three different bets at a craps table.

37. Shuffle a deck of cards.

38. Tell a joke.

39. Know when to split his cards in blackjack.

40. Speak to an eight-year-old so he will hear.
41. Speak to a waiter so he will hear.
42. Talk to a dog so it will hear.

43. Install: a disposal, an electronic thermostat, or a lighting fixture without asking for help.

44. Ask for help.

45. Break another man's grip on his wrist.

46. Tell a woman's dress size.

47. Recite one poem from memory.
48. Remove a stain.

49. Say no.

50. Fry an egg sunny-side up.

51. Build a campfire.
52. Step into a job no one wants to do.
53. Sometimes, kick some ass.

54. Break up a fight.
55. Point to the north at any time.

56. Create a play-list in which ten seemingly random songs provide a secret message to one person.

57. Explain what a light-year is.

58. Avoid boredom.
59. Write a thank-you note.

60. Be brand loyal to at least one product.
61. Cook bacon.

62. Hold a baby.

63. Deliver a eulogy.
64. Know that Christopher Columbus was a son of a bitch.

65. Throw a baseball over-hand with some snap.
66. Throw a football with a tight spiral.
67. Shoot a 12-foot jump shot reliably.

68. Find his way out of the woods if lost.

69. Tie a knot.

70. Shake hands.

71. Iron a shirt.

72. Stock an emergency bag for the car.

73. Caress a woman's neck.

74. Know some birds.

75. Negotiate a better price.

A PET'S TEN COMMANDMENTS

1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.

2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.

3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.

4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.

5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.

6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.

7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you..

8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.

9. Please take care of me when I grow old... You too, will grow old.

10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please… Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.

Bearing it all for Ginger - Stupidest Thing I Ever Done by Jeff Morris

What's the stupidest thing you've ever done in your life? I'm sure you have one. If not, then I've got more than enough for both of us. Next week marks the 25th anniversary of the absolute epic moment of stupidity in my life. It was more than stupid. It was stupid-and-a-half.

In the summer of 1981 a just-a-bit-seedier-than-a-carny guy came through the doors of the Prescott Journal in Prescott, Ontario, where I was enslaved as a summer student at a buck-fifty an hour. God bless ya Dad. I know he's smiling and looking down at me saying, "Yeah, son, but that was 1981 money..."

The poster said that "Big Time Wrestling" was coming to the Prescott Community Centre, now the Leo Boivin Arena. All of the big names were coming. Whipper Watson Junior, The Sheik, a couple of fat, bald, hairy Slavic dudes, and the headliner, Ginger the Wrestling Bear.

So Steve Bonisteel, our editor, tagteamed with Bruce Hayes, and they tapped right into my unstable craving for making a complete idiot of myself in public.

"Come on, Jeff, you always said you liked George Plimpton," said Steve.

"Yeah," Bruce jumped in. "I bet George Plimpton never wrestled a real bear before."
Within seconds Steve was on the phone with the Big Time Wrestling promoter/poster guy/busdriver/janitor/surgeon. He hung up the phone and had a big smile and this Chucky-becomes-an-editor look on is face.

"It's all set up," he beamed. "You will be the volunteer from the audience to fight Ginger."

What have I done now? Ohhhhh crap!

Wednesday night arrived -- those six days went quickly -- and the Leo was filled to the rafters with the townsfolk of Prescott. Remember, this was before specialty channels. You had to actually leave your home to see a good sociological train wreck, like the one I was about to be.

I was destined to become an urban legend that night, shredded to death by this huge, ugly, smelly, shaggy, beast being swarmed by flies. Did I say huge?

So I'm there in the ring, wondering why I can't swallow, hoping I don't soil myself in front of the whole town, looking at this thing. The bear's trainer, a slightly bigger and smellier and shaggier man than Ginger who was likely a retired wrestling bear himself, approached me gruffly.

"She's declawed, but she can still hurt you so be careful. Don't go near her head because the muzzle isn't fastened, it just slips on. Don't pull her hair, that makes her mad. When you're ready, just walk into her. When I give her a signal, she will pin you. Just let her and you will be okay."

Walk into her? For all the times I fought through ADD in my life, this was the one moment I wish I actually hadn't been paying attention.

So I "walked into Ginger", and the huge, hairy trainer holding Ginger on a chain made this primal sound and the beast rose majestically onto its hind legs, scaring away the hundred or so flies buzzing around its face, and thudded its enormous paws onto my not-so-big-after-all shoulders.

Standing up, Ginger was almost eight feet tall. I reached up and put my arms on the bear's shoulders, and we looked like two kids slow dancing at their first sixth grade sock hop. Actually, that was slightly more frightening than wrestling a bear.

Then, without warning, the big hairy man gave a signal, and in a flash, I was flat on my back, looking at the light fixtures, while Ginger started to climb on top of me for the pin.

Realizing my moment of glory was nearly over and I had yet to make a worthy spectacle or idiot of myself, I panicked. You see, I was a wrestling fan, and I knew what to do. I was near the ropes at the side of the ring, and I quickly rolled onto my side and started pounding the mat, feigning agony, just like wrestlers and soccer players do on TV. My leg was also on the bottom rope, which nullifies the pin. Those are the rules in wrestling. I mean real wrestling, not that crappy, boring kind they do in high school and the Olympics.

So I got up, and figuring this would be the only time I would ever be in a wrestling ring in my life, I started running around and bouncing off the ropes, stopping occasionally to flex my disproportionately chicken-like arms.

I went back and forth, and Ginger was getting a little worked up and the big hairy man started yelling at me to stop.

Ginger was trying to follow me around and was getting tangled in the chain and was getting upset and confused. The trainer looked at me, with foam leaking out of the corner of his mouth and yellowing, angry eyes with Wal-Mart Lab red-eye.

"What do you think this is, a comedy show?" he barked. Evidently, he didn't get the memo. He dug his heels in and fought in waterski position to try and control the bear, but I didn't care. I was driven by adrenaline from the roar of the crowd, even if they were all laughing at me, not with me.

Even my mild-mannered and very proper grandfather was standing along the boards of the arena pounding the glass with his fists while laughing uncontrollably at me.
Big Bear gave Ginger her only loss. Photo ©2006 Morris.

Eventually, the bear trainer calmed me down enough so that I could grapple with Ginger a bit more, though I'm sure he let the bear take a few liberties at me. She seemed a lot rougher and more aggressive the second time around and swatted me around pretty good.
He gave the signal again, and wham, I was down. This time, I let the beast pin me, not wanting to freak it out. The fact that Ginger was rubbing her head against my side, trying to slip the muzzle off, while I lay on my back with a tree trunk size leg and paw on me kind of added to the "thrill" of the experience.

I immediately thought of all those stories you read, you know, "Camper mauled to death by bear". I lay there, helpless, thinking of how much fun the Journal staff could have if Ginger would have worked the muzzle off and went Siegfried and Roy on my throat.

Ginger took on more comers that night. Bill Martineau gave it a try, and then Steve Dring, a brilliant soccer player, got in and lasted several minutes with Ginger before he was finally pinned.

Ginger's only loss

Over the years, Ginger took on thousands of bozos like me in small towns across North America throughout the 1980s.

But one of those bozos, a larger-than-life animated character named Barry "Bear" Vinson of Sparta, Tennessee, actually beat Ginger in the ring. In over 10,000 matches, Ginger lost only once. Bear Vinson, now 46, put the smackdown on Ginger back in 1980.

"There was this elderly gentleman with Ginger as a sideshow at the local fair," said the Bear with his thick, southern drawl from his home in Tennessee. "People were lined up to wrassle that thing, and my friend said to me '‘Bear, y'all gotta get in there and wrassle that bear.' I just looked at him and said, 'I ain't gonna wrassle no dang bear.'"

Bear Vinson was no ordinary 20-year-old. Nicknamed the Hulk, he was a big, strapping lad who played offensive line at Tennessee Tech. He bench pressed 575 pounds and he could squat 1400 pounds. In the days before steroid use, these numbers are staggering. Bear was also undefeated at the state level as an arm wrestler. If anyone could take out Ginger, it was Bear.

"I watched that dang bear for three days," said Bear. "I studied it and I watched it, and then I figured I would give it a try, but figured I'd change things up. You know, surprise her."

It was oldtimers day at the fair that day, and Bear was wearing overalls. The trainer had been smashing watermelons on the ground for Ginger to eat, and Bear noticed how slick the floor was and that Ginger's opponents couldn't get any footing -- not that it would matter.

"Instead of just climbing through the ropes, I dove through them, right into the ring, said Bear, who I could tell was wishing he could demonstrate it even though we were talking on the phone. "She came right at me and was swinging her big arms. Even though she was declawed, she slashed my chest pretty good. But out of sheer terror, I just did what we were trained to do in football. Keep your feet shoulder width apart, and keep them moving. I tried not to get to close to her where she could hurt me and get an advantage."

Bear managed to get Ginger on all fours, and then he pounced on her back. Ginger started swiping her big paws at his feet, but he kept backpedaling away from her swats."

Bear got Ginger up and then went at her feet. Somehow, he managed to flip ginger over his back, and the great Alaskan bear landed with a thud.

"She fell, but she got up swinging at me," Bear explained. "And I did the same thing and she flipped over me again."Ginger got up and just walked over to her corner and sat down. "She wouldn't get back up," said Bear. "The trainer came up to me and said he wouldn't allow me to wrassle her no more. I said to him don't worry, ‘cause I don't wanna wrassle no dang bear no more. I figured it's just one of them things you get to tell your kids about some day."

Bear's legend grew in Sparta, but outside of the town, many doubted his 725-pound tale. Even his ex-wife, a doctor, had her doubts, until a client came in who happened to be from Sparta. When the girl found out that her doctor was married to Bear, the story was confirmed.

"She came home and said 'I thought you was just jokin', but this girl came in and she didn't know me from diddly, and she said it was true.' In Sparta, that's how I got my nickname, Bear. That and the fact I was 14 pounds, nine ounces when I was born."

Ouch.

Bear became a computer teacher and has been a motivational speaker, and his story of defeating ginger the Wrestling Bear is one of his favourite ones to tell.

"You always have to believe in yourself and stay positive," he said. "You're dealt a hand of cards every day and you just gotta put your poker face on and do the best you can.

"I walked in there believin' I could beat Ginger, and I sized her up and went in with a plan. It just shows that you can do anything you put your mind to in this world."

After talking to Bear, I thought about my experience in the ring with Ginger. I didn't have a plan. Well, I kind of had a plan, but it was more to act like an idiot than to actually wrestle the bear. Then the plan became not to get killed.

And I don't think a plan would have done much for me. But it worked for Bear Vinson -- a man who earned his nickname the hard way. I guess, in some sort of twisted Freudian way, I overcame a big fear of bears by actually wrestling one.

But as for my other big phobia? There's no bloody way I'll ever get into the ring and wrestle a clown.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story originally appeared in the Prescott Journal, and on Sportsology.net, and is re-printed with permission.