Neighbors Invite Me Home
I sat on the porch of a large modern log cabin. Behind me Teslin Lake sparkled in the late afternoon sun and weaved and bobbed in the gentle wind. This was the home of a first nation native family. The amicable spouse was blonde and light skin. “We’ve been married 21 years. Sometimes visitor mistake me for a tourist”.
The spouse had run up to me while I was walking. “I am out for a jog” she said. “Why don’t you come by our house for some coffee. There is a big grizzly bear around here. Be careful” Just then the coffee seemed very appealing.
“Each family in the tribe is entitled to a track of tribal land. We can live in the beautiful spot but the land always belongs to the tribe. The council is pretty powerful”
The wonderful hostess calmly served me cookies as she told the story. “Last winter the giant grizzly broke down my garage door. When he stood on those back legs he was taller than the garage. My husband and son were out hunting so I was all alone.
The dogs kept barking and woke me up otherwise he would have been in kitchen. The bear didn’t even move when I fired the shotgun into the air. He must have been real hungry.
He was old though and didn’t have any teeth so huntin was hard for him. They shot him a few weeks later when he came into town.”