My Trip to Hospital

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 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 only drinks chocolate owls' milk in his bottle 'cuz he doesn't have any teeth! Chance takes off his diaper when we're not watching him and then he climbs way high on things. Then he can't get down and he makes little squawky noises 'cuz he's stuck. I say, "My son! Come down from there this instant!" I have to rescue him. He's a handful!

Chance and me are at Hotel-Dieu Grace. That's a hospital. I know what hospitals are. Hospitals are places to go when you're sick. Know what? I had an accident this morning. I fell off my blue bike, the one with the Canada flag on it. I got hurt. I tried to be brave but I cried 'cuz I really hurted.

 Good thing I was wearing my brain bucket. That's what Grandpa James calls my safety helmet. I had to see the doctor and have a CAT Scan. I thought it was a kitten. I like kittens. Cats make nice friends. A CAT Scan isn't a kitten at all! A CAT Scan is a machine that looks inside of me to see what's wrong.

I had to drink a whole bottle of a banana-flavoured shake before the CAT Scan. The CAT Scan can see the shake inside of me. I'd like to look inside my buddies and friends! Wow! That's a super power I'd like to have! It's better than being invisible!

Chance and me are sitting on the CAT Scan. It's like a big bed with a doughnut on top! I l-o-v-e doughnuts, don't you? If it was a real doughnut I'd eat it all up!



I have to lie down and be really, really still 'cuz the doughnut is going to look inside of me and see if I'm okay. Chance wants to ride with me but he can't. It's just one cub at a time. He can have his turn later.

Look at me! I'm flat on my back. I'm holding still. The bed is moving! I'm riding right into the doughnut hole! The CAT Scan can talk! A nice voice says, "Take a deep breath and hold it." I can do that! I'm five, you know. I can follow instructions. Ask Miss Jackie. She's my teacher at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. She puts lots of red stars and Canada flags and yellow happy faces on my work 'cuz I'm smart.

Then the voice says, "Breathe." I can do that, too! This is easy. I'm not afraid at all. The nice lady put a band on my head so it doesn't wiggle while I'm inside the CAT Scan. "Look out! Good citizens! Charles the Bear Cub comin' through!

We wait until the nice lady says I'm gonna be fine. We can go home, now. That's the bestest news, you know. Hotel-Dieu Grace is a nice hospital but it's more fun to be at home on Sparkle Road in Olde Sandwich Towne. That's in Windsor. I know where Windsor is. It's in O Canada.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa 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 Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Ride your bike carefully. Always wear your brain bucket. If you get hurt, go to Hotel-Dieu Grace and the nice doctors, nurses and all the other kind people will help you get well. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can ride bikes together! If we get hurt we'll go to Hotel-Dieu Grace and ride in the CAT Scan! Okay! Over and out!"

Eating Yummy Food at Wah Kee

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.

 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. He takes off his diaper and climbs way high on things. Then he can't get down and he makes little squawky noises 'cuz he's scared. I have to say, "My son! Come down from there this instant." Then I have to go get him 'cuz he's scared. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? This is a picture of Chance and me with our buddy, Sue. Sue has a very important job, you know. She makes everyone happy with Chinese food at Wah Kee. That's a restaurant. It's by our house. It's down the street. I can ride there on my blue bike with the Canada flag on it.  I l-o-v-e- Chinese food, don't you? I even eat the broccolis without holding my nose. Sue makes the bestest food!



Today we can order anything we want. I'm hungry. I'm really hungry. I'm as hungry as a bear. I want hot and sour soup. It's yummy and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide. It's the bestest soup in the whole wide world! I know how to get food. We read the menu and pick out the ones we want to eat.



I will tell you a secret. Wah Kee is the favourite restaurant of all the other Chinese restaurant owners in Windsor.

I can read, you know. That's 'cuz I'm five and I go to the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre on Sandwich Street. Miss Jackie is my teacher. I think she's a princess. I think Sue is a princess, too. Look at Chance. He's sitting right on the plate! Chance is silly. He's so little, he doesn't know any better. I'm not going to eat him! Chance thinks the soup is to splash in. He's all sticky. He' making a real mess. Chance has to have a bath when we get home.

 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. Do good deeds for neighbours and friends. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house! We can go see our buddy Sue at Wah Kee and eat fortune cookies! Okay! Over and out!"

Walkin' the Picket Line With Our Buddies at Canada Post

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. He's so old he remembers when you had to lick your own stamps!

 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 doesn't have any teeth. He just drinks condensed owls' milk out of his bottle. He climbs way high on things and he can't get down. I say, "My son! Come down from there this instant!" He makes little squawky noises 'cuz he's afraid. I have to help him. He's a handful!

Know what? Our buddies at Canada Post can't go inside the building and work. That's too bad.

 I know what postal workers do. They work very hard. They have a very important job. The are the nice people who bring us letters and packages. They bring them right to our door!  I l-o-v-e letters and packages, don't you?


I share my Smarties and gummy worms with the nice Postal Lady who comes to our house. I think she's a princess, you know. I get mail, you know. I cards and presents on my birthday. They come by Canada Post.  My birthday is on July 1st, you know. That's the same day that O Canada has a birthday, too!

James says CUPW stands for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. It's a family. Chance and James and me are family. Our family is pretty small. There are 550 people in the CUPW family in Windsor. That's a lot of porridge to cook! They must have a really big kitchen table! Wow!

CUPW is on strike. I know what strike means. My teacher, Miss Jackie told us. I go to the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre on Sandwich Street.

Strike means nobody can go inside the Post Office. The door is locked.

Our buddies are in front of our Post Office. Our buddies are picketing. That means they carry signs and blow whistles. Sometimes good citizens have to walk the picket line until somebody will listen.

Know what? Chance and me can help! We're good citizens! We can help our friends and neighbours. We can help our buddies!  We can carry signs and blow whistles. That's a good idea! Then the big boss in Ottawa will hear them and they can go back to work! I hope it's soon. Canada Post is one of my favouritest places.

People drive past the Post Office and honk their car horns and wave. They give us thumbs up.

 Strike is what happens when the two sides stop talking. One side is the labour union and the other side is management. The big bosses sit down and talk to the workers. The workers have leaders. The leaders talk to the bosses.  When they agree and shake hands everyone can go inside and we can get letters and packages, again.

 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. Do good deeds! Help your friends and neighbours. Good citizens get to eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to Canada Post and walk the picket line with us! We can help! Okay! Over and out!"

Hangin' Out at Petwise

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.

 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 visiting Petwise. It's a special store for our friends like bunny rabbits and kitty cats and puppy dogs, too. This is our buddy Shaun. He helps people who come to the store. Lots of our friends don't eat Smarties or drink root beer. they have special food and it comes from Petwise. They're on Facebook, you know.

We met some new friends at Petwise. This is Carrie. She's a dog. She's very friendly. She took Chance for a piggy back ride--even though Carrie's not a pig. We just say piggyback. Chance doesn't talk, 'cuz he's a newborn cubby. Chance makes lots of little squeaky noises when he's happy. He squeaked a lot when Carrie took him for a ride. I didn't go for a ride 'cuz I'm way too big. I'm five, you know. I go to the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. That's on Sandwich Street. I have lots of friends and buddies there.

See, our friends have four feet and our buddies have two feet. Snakes don't have any feet at all. Know what? Snakes don't have to wear shoes. Chance and me don't have to wear shoes, either. After our bath, we get to run around bare naked. That's a pun, you know.

We're playing Hide-and-Seek with Onyx the cat. Chance is supposed to be hiding. He climbs way up high on things. See him? He's at the tippy-top of the Cat Hotel.

When Chance closes his eyes, he thinks he's invisible but he's not. Onyx the cat and I know where to find him. We just look and there he is! Oh, oh! Chance is stuck. He can't get down. I say, "My son! Come down from there before you fall!" Bless his little cotton sox, he can't get down. I have to help him. Chance is a handful, you know.

 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. Be kind to your friends and buddies. Be polite to your neighbours.  Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can all hang out at Petwise! Okay! Over and out!"

Recycling is 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.

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. Newborn cubbies don't talk. They just make squeaky noises when they're happy and little squawky noises when they're hungry or have to poo. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know where we are today? We're at Windsor's recycling centre with our buddy Peter. I know what recycling is. It's when we put empty root beer cans in the red box and old  papers in the blue box. When they're full we take them to the recycling centre.  Peter has things to recycle and we get to help. Helping is fun. Good citizens help each other, you know.

 At the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre, Miss Jackie teaches us about recycling. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, she always says. Miss Jackie is very smart. She's pretty. I think she might be a princess.

We take our own cloth bags to Westside Foods when we go shopping so we don't use plastic bags. Know what? Chance likes to ride in the bag. That's 'cuz he's so little. He's a newborn cubby. He doesn't have any teeth, yet. He doesn't even have a tail!

Good citizens recycle. Recycling is a good thing to do. It's good for Mother Earth, James says. Know what? They have big boxes for everything at the recycling centre.

This is our buddy, Ed. He's lucky. Ed works at the recycling centre. He tells people where to put things. Ed has an important job, you know. I could be a recycle bear when I grow up. I would get to wear an orange shirt. I would say, "Good citizen, place your cardboard in the Number Two bin, please."

I would thank everybody who came to the centre with their stuff. If they were very, very good I might give them root beer and Smarties, too. Good citizens do good deeds and they get to drink root beer and eat Smarties.

 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. Put them in the blue boxes and the red boxes. Then you can go to the recycling centre.  You can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can fill up the blue box together! Okay! Over and out!"