Secrets!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I help him remember stuff. This morning he forgot where we live! Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? I'm telling Chance a secret. I know what a secret is. It's something I have to whisper so nobody else can hear. I'm whispering in Chance's ear. I'm whispering to him where James hid a BIG box of Smarties. James thinks we will eat them all up and spoil our appetites, so he hides them. Chance and me know where they are hidden. I line them all my Smarties and I eat the red ones last. Chance doesn't have any teeth so I grind them up in the blender and put them in his bottle. Then I fill up his bottle with condensed owls' milk. That's what Chance drinks.

Oh. Wait! How will Chance know to drink the red ones last? Oh. Dear. I'd better ask James. Oh. Maybe not. We're not supposed to have any. I'd have to sit on the Time Out Chair and think about what I did bad. I hate the Time Out Chair. I hate to think about what I did. Thinking hurts. Maybe we should wait for James to give us some Smarties. Yeah. That's what good citizens would do. I want to be a good citizen.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. It's okay to share secrets but don't eat Smarties if you're supposed to wait 'til after dinner. . Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer, too! Okay! Over and out!"

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I help him remember things. He forgot to make us breakfast! Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? We're looking at pictures. In February we made snow persons. We can't do that now 'cuz there's no more snow. The grass is green and the flowers and trees are waking up from a long winter's nap. That's what James says. I don't know where the snow went. James says it will come back soon enough. I think the snow is taking a long summer nap.

When there's no snow we climb trees and dig holes in the back yard. We ride our bikes up and down Sandwich Street and make siren noises. We pick up trash. We go on lion hunts with our space ray guns we got at the dollar store. We eat mulberries right off the trees. We can wait for the snow to come back.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. We're having peanut butter and licorice sandwiches for lunch. I l-o-v-e them. They're yummy and that's one of the food groups in the Canada Food Guide.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Enjoy spring. Play outside in the sunshine. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us!  Okay! Over and out!"

Birthday Party Fun

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. I look after him 'cuz he's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I help him remember things. This morning he accidentally put Chance in the refrigerator! Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Chris had a birthday. He's our buddy. He lives with Jordan and Oreo. Oreo is a really big cat. We got to go to Chris' birthday party. We rode on the Crosstown bus. Chris and Jordan and Oreo live in Walkerville. That's really far away! At birthday parties we get to drink chocolate milk. After we sing the Happy Birthday song the birthday boy blows out the candles then we get to eat birthday cake. I l-o-v-e birthday cake. It's yummy and yummy is one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide. My birthday is on Canada Day. I would eat birthday cake every day!

Chance and me made a present for Chris. We could hardly wait for him to open it! We made him a picture of us playing hockey. I holler, "He shoots! He scores!" when we play. Chance makes little squeaky noises 'cuz he's happy. He likes to play hockey. He's the goalie. I'm Sidney Crosby.

I'm an artist. I learned all about art from Miss Jackie at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. Miss Jackie showed me how to colour inside the lines and how to paw paint. I'm a good artist. I got three gold stickers 'cuz I'm good. Chance doesn't really paint very good. He tries to eat the crayons! He thinks 'cuz it's pretty it will taste good. He tries to eat the gold stickers, too.


This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Go to birthday parties and sing the birthday song to your buddies and friends. Then you can eat birthday cake. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house on Canada Day and eat birthday cake with me! Okay! Over and out!"

Bedtime Prayers

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I help him. This morning he put a bottle of soap in the fridge! Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

We sure had fun today. We climbed trees . We dug holes in the back yard. We rode our bikes up and down Sandwich Street and made siren sounds. We ate Smarties and gummy worms and peanut butter. We played with Uncle Darryl and Auntie Alexandria.

Now we're really tired and it's time to go to sleep. We ate our dinner and we had our baths. Now we're saying goodnight to God and we're going to go to Sleepy Town. I say, "Thank you God for all my friends and buddies. Thank you for all the food groups in the Canada Food Guide, except the nasty foods, God. Thank you for James and Chance. Oh. Wait! Thank you for my Cat-in-the-Hat sox, too. Amen." Amen means over and out.

Know what? Chance doesn't pray. He's too little to talk. He makes squeaky noises. I'm sure God knows what they mean. We're really sleepy.

James hugs us and kisses our noses and says, "Good-night my handsome bear cubs. Good-night my Sons of Windsor. Good-night my Princes of Ontario. That's me. Charles. That's Chance. We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario. We're falling a-s-l-e-e-p. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Hide & Seek is Always Fun!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I help him remember. This morning he put the telephone in the refrigerator! Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? We're playing Hide & Seek. Chance closes his eyes and counts to one hundred. He can't count 'cuz he's just a newborn cubby, so I help him. I holler "One elephant, two elephants, three elephants, all the way up to 100. I'm a good counter, you know. Miss Jackie taught me to count. She's my teacher at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. I'm climbing over the back of the chesterfield while Chance waits for me to count to 100. I'm gonna hide so good he won't be able to find me.

Chance thinks if he closes his eyes, he's invisible. He's not. I can see him. Know you know why I have to look after him, too. I love to play Hide & Seek. Chance loves it, too. Sometimes James plays with us. It's a fun game. James reminds us to play nice. Good citizens play nice. Good citizens get to eat peanut butter and Smarties sandwiches.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. Maybe he will let us help him make peanut butter and Smarties sandwiches for lunch! Yeah. I like to help James cook.


This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Play nice. Then you can help make peanut butter and Smarties sandwiches. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play Hide & Seek with us! We can hide together! Okay! Over and out!"

Don't Be a Litter Bug!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I  help him remember. This morning he forgot to put on shoes before we went outside!  Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Spring is here. Spring is there. Spring is everywhere! Frosty the Snow Person disappeared. I don't know where he went but James says he won't come back for a long time. That's too bad 'cuz I like snow. Snow is a fun thing to play with. It's as much fun as Lego blocks.

I'm being a good citizen. Good citizens care. Good citizens pick up litter and put it in the recycling bin.  I know what litter is. It's trash and garbage. Picking up trash makes Sparkle Road and Sandwich Street look nicer. I like my neighbourhood and I want it to look good. Good citizens get to drink root beer and eat Smarties. They're yummy and that's a food group in the Canada Food Guide, you know. Bad citizens  litter. They should have to sit on the Time Out Chair and think about what they did. Maybe they should have to eat brocollis and sauerkrauts. They're nasty and that's another food group in the Canada Food Guide.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Pick up trash and garbage. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can pick up trash together! Okay! Over and out!"

Wallermelon Kool-Aid

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I  help him remember. This morning he forgot his own name!  Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? I get to eat wallermelon for breakfast. That's different from porridge with gummy worms. I l-o-v-e wallermelon! It's yummy and yummy is one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide. Wallermelon is a fruit. We grow wallermelons in Windsor and Essex County, you know.

Yesterday we went on the Ambassador Bridge to Detroit. That's in the Knighted States. We went with James and our buddy Elizabeth. She's from T.O. That means Toronto. When we got to the Knighted States we went to Ryan's Supermercado in Mexicantown. Know what I got? I got  wallermelon-flavoured Kool-Aid. Wow! I can't wait to drink it. I will stir it up with water. James says I'm the MiniSTIR of Stirring. Then he will put it in my sippy cup. You know, that's the  blue cup with Spiderman on it. I l-o-v-e wallermelon Kool-Aid. Chance will get some in his bottle. Good citizens get to eat wallermelons and drink wallermelon Kool-Aid.

Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario?" That's me, Charles! That's Chance, too! We're handsome bear cubs! We're Sons of Windsor! We're Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James! We wanna get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. We want wallermelon Kool-Aid!


This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Help people remember things. Then you can eat wallermelons and drink wallermelon Kool-Aid. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and drink wallermelon Kool-Aid with us! We can dig big holes in the back yard and climb trees, too! Okay! Over and out!"

Speedy Ca$h

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I have to help him remember. He went to Canada Post this morning. Canada Post isn't even open on Sundays! Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Saturday night Chance and me went to Mackenzie Hall to see S eedy Ca$h. It's a play. I know what a play is. It's a story that is acted out. It's as much fun as reading. I love plays. James says it's theatre.  James is in S eedy Ca$h. He says things that make people laugh. Our buddies Jay and Joey and Aaron and Chris are in the play, too. They make everybody laugh, too. We laughed right out loud! Chance doesn't really laugh 'cuz he's too little. He makes squeaky noises when he's happy. He made a lot of squeaky noises during the play. He took off his diaper and tried to climb on stage. I said, "Come down here this instant, my son!" I had to go get him down. He's a real handful, you know.

After the play we all went to Rock Bottom. I got to sit with Kathryn and Brian. Then I sat between Sarah and Shannon. Mark tickled Chance's ears and made him laugh. We got to sit with Wayne and Rob and Darryl and Chris and Elizabeth. They are all pretty good buddies, you know.

Know what? I got to drink root beer out of my sippy cup with Spiderman on it. Chance got to drink root beer out of his bottle. We l-o-v-e root beer. Good citizens get to drink root beer. It's yummy and yummy is one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide. I'm glad we're good citizens.

We got home at midnight! That's really, really late. I never stayed up so late before. James heard our bedtime prayers and tucked us in for the night. I fell asleep before he finished reading our bedtime story 'cuz my eyes wouldn't stay open anymore. I am sure he said, "Good night, my handsome bear cubs. Sweet dreams, my Sons of Windsor. Sleep well, my Princes of Ontario." I am sure he tickled our ears and kissed our noses, too. James always does that.

This is me Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be nice to people. Smile and laugh when you're at the theatre.  Then you can come to Rock Bottom with us and drink root beer. Over and zzzzzzzzz."

My Blue Bike

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I have to help him remember where he puts things. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Chance and me are looking at my blue bike. It has a Canada flag on it. Today we get to bring it outside 'cuz spring is here! I can ride real fast on my bike. Elmer the Safety Elephant says we should wear helmets for protection. He's my friend. I wear a helmet so I don't hurt my head if I fall. Chance is too little ride a bike, so he rides with me. We have to get a helmet at Canadian Tire for a newborn cubby, you know. Chance might fall off and hurt himself. I l-o-v-e my blue bike. James has a green bike with a Canada flag on it. We ride up and down Sandwich Street and make siren noises. We ride over to Mac's Milk and get gummy worms and Smarties. That's fun!


Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Who wants to go for a bicycle ride? Where's my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario?" That's me! That's Chance, too! Okay. We gotta go now. We're gonna go outside and ride up and down Sandwich Street. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Ride your bikes! Over and out!"

Hurry Up Spring!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I have to help him remember where he put the porridge. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Chance and me are waiting for spring to come. James says spring will get here tomorrow at 1.32 pm. I wish spring would hurry up and get here. I don't know what spring looks like exactly but James says it's in the air. I think spring must be invisible! We got robins in our back yard. It's nice outside. Yesterday it was 20C. James says we broke a record. I'm glad I didn't break it. If I break something I have to sit on the Time Out Chair and think about what I did.

When spring comes James will bring out my blue bike with the Canada flag on it. That's good 'cuz I like to ride up and down Sandwich Street and make siren noises. Chance is too little to ride a bike but he can ride with me. Oh. Wait! We gotta get a helmet for Chance so he can ride safe. Hurry up and get here, spring. We got a lot of playing to do!

Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where's my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario?" That's me! That's Chance, too! Okay. We gotta go now. We're gonna go outside and eat Smarties while we watch for spring. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Watch for spring! Over and out!"

The Pride Chair

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I have to help him remember where he put his sox. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Chance and me are sitting on this chair. It's not the Time Out Chair. It's a Pride Chair. We're being proud. We are proud every day.  That's 'cuz we're good citizens. Good citizens help each other. Good citizens are kind and true. Oh! Wait! We're honest and brave, too. That's a lot of hard work, you know. This rainbow scarf helps us remember those things.

Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where's my handsome bear cubs? Where's my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario?" That's us! Charles and Chance. We better get down from here and see James. He will tickle our ears and kiss our noses. Maybe he will surprise us with Smarties. Okay. Be good citizens; be proud every day! This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Over and out!"

Robins are Here & Green Spaghetti

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I have to help him remember things. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? It's really warm outside. It's warm enough to be subtropical, James says. That's silly. We don't have palm trees in Windsor. James says this is the Canadian Banana Belt. You can't fool me. You can't make belts out of bananas! Now you know why I have to look after him.

The temperature is 18C. The thermometer tells us how warm or cold it is. Robins are here. That means spring is in the air. I don't see any springs but I see robins. Robins in the air. They are building a nest in the sugar maple that's in our back yard. They will be our neighbours. Robins are pretty but it's hard to play with them 'cuz they fly. I don't know how to fly. Chance doesn't know either. Maybe the robins will teach us! I know! James will show us how to fly and then we can play with the robins!

Know who else is here? St. Patrick. Lots of people are wearing something green today 'cuz that's St. Patrick's favourite colour. We're not wearing green; we're gonna eat something green. We're gonna cook green spaghetti for dinner. I l-o-v-e spaghetti! Chance will have to drink condensed owls' milk from his bottle. He's a newborn and doesn't have any teeth, yet.


Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where's my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario?" That's us!  Charles and Chance! We're handsome bear cubs! We're Sons of Windsor! We're Princes of Ontario! We gotta go see James. He will tickle our ears and kiss our noses. Then we will go outside for a flying lesson. We can dig some really big holes. No. Wait! We can climb the sugar maple and watch the robins build their nest. This is Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Watch for spring. It's everywhere! Over and out!"

Our Friend Angus

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. This is the third day James forgot to buy gummy worms. We don't even have any Smarties. I know! I'll put licorice in my porridge. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? We're visiting Angus. He's a cat. He lives with Cassidy the bunny rabbit and their buddies Jay and Shawn. Angus likes to climb up high. So do we! Climbing is fun. When I get way up high I can see everything! Angus likes to play Hide & Seek with us, too. Angus is a good hider. Chance thinks if he closes his eyes we can't see him. That's silly. He's a newborn cubby. He will be a better hider when he's older, like me.

Did you hear that? James is hollering? "Where's my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Ontario? Where are my Princes of Windsor? Who wants to go to Westside Foods ad get gummy worms and Smarties? That's us! Charles and Chance. We're handsome bear cubs! We're Sons of Ontario! We're Princes of Windsor! We want to go to the store! I like to ride in the buggy and make siren sounds. Chance doesn't talk but he makes little squeaky noises when he's happy. Okay. We gotta go! This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Climb way up high today and you can see everything! Over and out!"

Art

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. James forgot to  buy gummy worms. I had to put Smarties in my porridge this morning. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? I've climbed up on this statue. The people are real, they're just not alive. That's what a statue is. It's art. Art is pretty. I know all about art 'cuz Miss Jackie taught me. She's our teacher at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. Miss Jackie is pretty. She has a nice laugh, too. She showed me how to colour inside the lines and how to paw paint. I like to paw paint with peanut butter 'cuz I can eat it if I get hungry. Making art always makes me hungry I don't know how to make a statue, yet.  I wonder if statues are made out of peanut butter. I know. I'll ask James. He knows lots of things.


Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where's my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario?" That's me! Charles! That's Chance! I'd better get down from here and find Chance. Then we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. Maybe we will eat wallermelon. Okay. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Make art. Over and out!"

284 Days Until Christmas!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. James forgot to  buy gummy worms. I had to put Smarties in my porridge this morning. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? It's only 284 days until Merry Christmas comes. That's a lot of days! I can count to 100, you know. Last night I had a dream. Chance and me were waiting for Merry Christmas to come. We had our Santa toques on. We were on our best behaviour. We made gingerbread beings for Santa and the Baby Jesus and Merry Christmas.  We closed our eyes and fell asleep. Chance fell asleep on my lap. When we woke up Merry Christmas brought us a present!


I l-o-v-e Merry Christmas!


This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens every day and Merry Christmas and Santa and the Baby Jesus will come to your house. Bye for now! Over and out!"

The Visitors' Centre

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I have to look after him. He gets lost, sometimes. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!


Know what? Chance and me are at the Ontario Visitors' Centre. We sit right here on this chair and people visit with us. I know what visitors do. They visit. Visitors like to have their picture taken with us. We tell them all about Windsor and Ontario and O Canada--our home and native land. I share poems with them. Poems that I write. I'm an Internet Poem Star, you know.  Here is one of my favourite poems. Ready?

Resistance (by Charles the Handsome Bear Cub)
I don't wanna
Live in Taranna.
THE END.

Folks laugh when I share poems. I know another one. Ready?

Danger (by Charles the Handsome Bear Cub)
Jack and Jill went to the still,
To fetch a pail of whisky.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
Now, isn't whisky risky!
THE END.

I always say 'THE END' so people know I finished.

This is me, Charles the handsome bear cub saying, "Write some poems and share them with visitors. That's what good citizens do. Okay, we gotta go, now. See you soon! Over and out!"

The Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? This is me with the gang from the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. We're on a field trip, having fun. It's okay to say field trip even if there is no field. Miss Jackie is our teacher. We're learning all about our neighbourhood. I know what a neighbourhood is. It's the citizens who live in houses and apartments around my house. There are all kinds of neighbours. Good neighbours give us Smarties.  Some neighbours are nosy. They have to sit in the Time Out Chair and think about what they did, you know.

Did you hear that? Miss Jackie says it's time for us to line up and go Tim Horton's. We get to drink cocoa! I l-o-v-e cocoa. If I had pockets I'd put some cocoa in there and take it home for Chance and James. I sure hope I grow pockets when I'm older. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Know you neighbours. Be nice to bear cubs. Over and out!"

Happy Birthday to Juanita

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.  I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Today is our buddy Juanita's birthday. She lives in St. John's. That's in Newfoundland. I know where Newfoundland is. It's in O Canada, our home and native land.  O Canada has ten provinces. I know their names. Miss Jackie taught me geography at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. Ready? British California, Albearta,  Skratchyouone, Mana-something, Toronto, Maple Syrup and the Canadiens, McCain's French Fries, Anne of Green Gables' house, Fishy Blue Noses and then there is Newfoundland and Labador.

Labador is a puppy. I wish we had a puppy. I would teach him to roll over and sit up and beg. I know! We can give a Labador puppy to Juanita. Yeah! That's a good present! Oh, wait! Labador puppies come in different colours. I don't know what Juanita's favourite colour is. I know! We'll get her a striped Labador puppy! I'll ask James if we can go to Canadian Tire. I got $8.67 in Canadian Tire money. Chance has $3.03 in Canadian Tire money. That's enough for a puppy! We can get Juanita a striped Labador puppy and put it in the mail today! I think puppies eat porridge with gummy worms. We can put porridge in this blue box with the puppy and mail the puppy to Juanita!

Okay! I gotta go! We got a lot of work to do if we're going to send Juanita a puppy. Happy Birthday, Juanita. Happy Birthday to you! Watch Canada Post for your puppy! This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens! Eat all your vegetables so you can have birthday cake. Starving children in Belgium would love to eat your vegetables and birthday cake! Over and out!"

Gold Medals

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.  I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? I'm sitting on the Canada Post truck. I know what the sign means. It tells about the Lympic Games in Vancouver. Lots of people came from all over the world. They wanted gold medals. O Canada got 14 gold medals. That's good, eh. I could win a gold medal. I'm the fastest bear cub on Sandwich Street. James says I can run like the wind!That's 'cuz I got Cat-in-the-Hat sox. They were a gift from Tanner, a big 'ole yeller dog and his friend Cassidy the bunny rabbit.

Oh! No! I've lost Chance! I have to find him. He's so tiny he could get run over by a car and the driver wouldn't eve see him! This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be a good citizen. Look after your little brother so he doesn't get smushed by a car! Over and out!"

Sub-tropical Southernmost Ontario

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.  I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Last week we had snow. Mr. Sunshine melted the snow and James says spring is in the air. I don't see any springs in the air. We see robins.  Canada geese are flying north.  The days are longer. It's hard to be sleepy when it's still light outside. I want to dig holes in the back yard. So does Chance. We don't really have palm trees on Sparkle Road but James says Windsor is in the Canadian banana belt. You can't fool me. I'm five. You can't make belts out of bananas, you know.

We got lots of fun things to do today but first we have to make our beds and eat breakfast. This morning we're eating pumpkin pancakes with peanut butter and maple syrup on top. I l-o-v-e pancakes. They're yummy and sticky. That's two of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide. Chance is so little he doesn't have teeth. He drinks condensed owls' milk from his bottle.Good citizens eat all their food. Starving children in Belgium would love to eat pumpkin pancakes.

Did you hear that? James is hollering? "Who's hungry? Where's my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario?" That's me! I'm a handsome bear cub. I'm a Son of Windsor. I'm a Prince of Ontario! So is Chance!

We gotta go find James so he can tickle our ears, kiss our noses and make us laugh right out loud. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens! Make your bed and eat pumpkin pancakes. Be on the look out for robins and Canada geese! Okay. Over and out!"

Speedy Ca$h

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's old and can't remember things like where he put the chequebook, so I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Chance and me are going to see a play on Saturday night at Mackenzie Hall. That's a theatre.  James is an actor in the play. So are his friends Jay and Joey and Chris and Aaron and Kathryn. It's a funny show. We will laugh a lot. We want you can come and laugh with us. We'll be on the front row. You can sit next to us, okay? Call 519.255.7600 and get your tickets for Speedy Ca$h.

Chance is sitting on the letter "P". I know why but I'm not gonna tell. You have to come and see.

Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Who are the Sons of Windsor? Who are the Princes of Ontario?" That's me, Charles! That's Chance, too. We're gonna go find James and we will eat Smarties and help him practise his lines.

This is Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens! Eat Smarties and help people today. Over and out!"

Charles Square

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's old and can't remember things like where he put the chequebook, so I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? I'm hanging around the the Charles J. Clark Square. See, the park's name is 'Charles.' It's a good name. That's my name. I can spell it.  C-h-a-r-l-e-s. I know what Charles means. It means free man. I'm a free bear cub. So is Chance.  I know what Chance's name means. It means good luck. Chance is lucky we found him and adopted him, you know. Do you know what your name means? Names are important.

Oh! Did you hear that? That's James. He's hollering, "Where's my handsome bear cubs? What have you done with the Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! I'm a handsome bear cub. I'm a Son of Windsor. ! I'm a Prince of Ontario. So is Chance! I'd better get down from here and find Chance and James. We have a lot to do today. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Pick up garbage off the sidewalk and put it in a trash can. Find out what your name means, too! Good citizens get to eat wallermelon and drink root beer. Bye for now."

King of the Hill

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's old and can't remember things like where he hides the Smarties, so I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!


Know what? Chance and me are playing King of the Hill. We climb way up on top of this snow mountain. We can see everywhere from here! We watch for anybody who might try to knock us off the top. Good thing we don't need glasses! James wears glasses, you know. He loses them all the time. He's climbing up the mountain right now. He's hollering, "I'm gonna get you!" Chance makes little squeaky noises when James says that. That's 'cuz he's happy. He knows that James will tickle his ears and kiss his nose. James is saying, "Look out you Sons of Windsor! Watch out you Princes of Ontario! I'm gonna get you!

When James catches us, we'll go to Tim Horton's and drink hot chocolate! I l-o-v-e hot chocolate! It's yummy and it's one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide. I know the food groups by heart: Yummy, sticky, sweet and nasty. Brocollis and sauerkrauts are nasty. I don't know why anybody would eat them. I eat them but only 'cuz I have to be a good example for Chance. That's what good citizens do.

We gotta go now. We're gonna drink hot chocolate. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens! Climb as high as you can. Eat broccolis, even if you have to hold your nose. Over and out!"

Let it Snow

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's old and can't remember things like where he hides the Smarties, so I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? It's snowing! Snow is fun to play with. Chance and me are in playing in the snow in downtown Windsor. James is here, too. We're having fun.  We climbed a snow mountain. We made snow people. We made snow angels, too. We throw snowballs. I l-o-v-e snow. James says, "Don't eat snow. It's dirty." Snow isn't in the Canada Food Guide but it should be, you know. Broccolis and sauerkrauts are in there and they taste nasty. The Prime Minister could tell them put snow in there. Snow tastes good.

Did you hear that? James is hollering, "What happened to my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me, Charles! I'm a handsome bear cub. I'm a Son of Windsor! I'm a Prince of Ontario! So is Chance! We're gonna get down from here and find James so he can tickle our ears and kiss our noses and make us laugh right out loud.

This me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Play in the snow but don't eat it. Over and out!"

Payphone

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's old and can't remember things like where he put his wallet, so I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

Know what? Chance and me found a public telephone. We got 50 cents, If we put it in the slot we could call somebody.   We could call home and see if we're there! Oh! Wait! We could call Queen Elizabeth or our friend Cassidy the bunny rabbit. We could invite them over to our house so we can build a snow fort.   I know how to answer the phone. I have telephone manners. I can say, "With whom am I speaking?" I'm an internet poem star, you know.  know a poem about the telephone.

Eletelephony
Once there was an elephant,
Who tried to use the telephant-
No! no! I mean an elephone
Who tried to use the telephone
(Dear me! I am not certain quite
That even now I’ve got it right.)
Howe’er it was, he got his trunk
Entangled in the telephunk:
The more he tried to get it free,
The louder buzzed the telephee-
(I fear I’d better drop the song
Of elephop and telephong!)
-~Laura E. Richards

Oh! The phone is ringing! I can answer it. "Hello. Charles the Bear Cub speaking."  It's James! He says, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? What happened to my Princes of Ontario? That's me, Charles! I'm a handsome bear cub. I'm a Son of Windsor. I'm a Prince of Ontario! So is Chance! We gotta get down from here and find James so we can play in the snow! This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens! Use your best phone manners. Good citizens get to eat gummy worms in their porridge. Over and out!"

Meeting a Mountie

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's old and can't remember things like where he put the remote control for the TV, so I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

Know what? Chance and me are at the tourist centre. It's a nice place. The lady let us have our picture taken with a Mountie. James says he's a cardboard constable. I know what Mounties do. They serve and protect. See! He's serving and protecting right now. Oh, no! Chance has climbed up on the Horseman's shoulder. "My son! Come down from there this instant!"  I have to watch Chance all the time. He's a real handful.

I know what else Mounties do. They stand on guard for thee. I could be an RCMP officer when I grow up, you know. I would stand on guard for thee. I don't know who 'thee' is but James will know. He knows lots of things. Kids and cubs would get their pictures taken with me. I would use my space ray gun to arrest bad people and make them sit on the Time Out Chair so they can think about what they did.

I hear James hollering, "Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? Where are my handsome bear cubs?" That's me, Charles! I'm a Son of Windsor. I'm a Prince of Ontario. I'm a handsome bear cub. So is Chance! We gotta go, now. We're gonna go outside and climb a snow mountain. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens! Be nice to the Mounties. Good citizens get to eat Smarties and drink root beer and play Space Invaders. Over and out!"

Hanging Out with a Nice Lady

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's old and can't remember things like where he put the remote control for the TV, so I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

Know what?  We climbed up here to talk to this nice lady. She is standing next to a church.  She doesn't talk at all. She must be very cold. James says she's a statue. I know what that means. She's real but she's not alive. She doesn't move. She just stays right here all the time. I'm glad I'm not a statue! I like to run and play. I like to climb trees and dig holes in the backyard.  I like to eat porridge with gummy worms. I like to ride my blue bike with the O Canada flag on it. Statues can't ride bikes or anything!

Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where's my handsome bear cubs? Where are the Sons of Windsor? Where are the Princes of Ontario? Who wants hot chocolate at Tim Horton's?" I want hot chocolate at Tim Horton's. I'm a handsome bear cub. I'm a Son of Windsor! I'm a Prince of Ontario! So is Chance! We gotta get down from here so we can find James and get our ears tickled, our noses kissed and we can go to Timmy's and drink hot chocolate, too!

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be nice to statues. Good citizens get to drink hot chocolate at Tim Horton's. Okay. Bye for now. Over and out!"

GO! CANADA! GO!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's old and forgetful, so I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

Know what? We watched the Lympics on CTV. The Lympics are for athletes. They win gold medals. O Canada won lots of gold medals. Chance and me play Lympic Games. I won a gold medal for running. I can run fast 'cuz I got Cat-in-the-Hat sox. They were a present from Tanner. Tanner was a big 'ole yeller dog. He was my firstest bestest friend but he got sick with cancer and died. When I wear my Cat-in-the-Hat sox I remember him. Chance won a gold medal for climbing really high but he tried to eat it. I said, "My son! Take that out of your mouth this instant!" We can't eat gold. It's not in the Canada Food Guide. I have to watch him you know, he's a real handful.

We're having porridge for breakfast. We're not eating gummy worms, though. Today we have chocolate toonies and loonies wrapped in gold and silver foil. We take off the foil and put the chocolate coins in our porridge. It's a Lympic breakfast!

Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where's my handsome bear cubs? Who's gonna help me eat a Lympic breakfast?" That's me! Charles. I'm a handsome bear cub! That's Charles, too! I'm gonna sit down at the table and my breakfast a-l-l u-p! Chance is too little to eat porridge. He drinks condensed owls' milk out of his bottle.

Okay! We gotta go! This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens! Eat all your food so you can be strong and win lots of gold medals today. Good citizens get to drink root beer and eat Smarties. Over and out!"