When I started working at Perot Systems, I discovered the Lead Trainer had a small teddy bear on her desk.
“Oh, that’s Bear,” she told me. “He goes through all sorts of torture.”
It seems our delightful Lead Trainer brought Bear into work one day after her boyfriend won him in a machine or she acquired him in some other mundane manner–fully unaware of Bear’s symbolic importance. As soon as she brought him in, strange things started happening.
She’d arrive in the morning to find Bear with a broken arm. Or hanging from a cord by his neck. Or squashed under a heavy weight.
“He goes through a lot,” she told me.
I said, “But he always survives. That’s because Bear can’t die. He goes into the cave in winter to wrestle the God of Death and emerges in the Spring.”
“Oh,” she said, smiling. “That’s neat. I never thought of it that way before.”
Having learned how to revere Bear, I’ve done my best to lead the “Pro-Bear Lobby” at work. She showed up one morning and he had a jar of honey along with a note. “I found the honey!” He also found the fish. A bag of Goldfish crackers, to be exact.
However, Bear disappeared a few days ago. Nobody seems to know where he went. He’s been gone since Wednesday, although I suspect he may show up on Monday morning. And he may show up with a disc of photos, chronicling his adventures.
(I should note that “Bear’s Adventures” are largely due to the ingenuity of Jessie Foster. Go Jessie.)
This is Bear at the cafeteria, getting a little something to eat before his grand day out.
Here we find Bear with an assortment of new friends. Bears can always use a few new friends.
Checking out Phoenix from a Bear’s eye view.
And finally, Bear in his natural habitat.