Bombay Grill House

Chance, Frankie and me are reading the menu with our Buddy Peter and Grandpa James at the Bombay Grill House.

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's a handful! Oh. Wait! Frankie lives with us, too!

We're at the Bombay Grill House. That's on Mill Street right around the corner from our house on Sparkle Road.  We get to eat Indian food. I l-o-v-e Indian food. It's yummy and yummy is one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide. The other food groups are sweet, sticky and nasty. I don't like to eat nasty foods like broccolis and saurkrauts. Grandpa James says they're good for me, so I have to take two bites but I hold my nose.

All the food is yummy at Bombay Grill House. There's lots of good things to eat for vegetable-tarians and for meat-atarians, too. I want to eat everything!

I know where India is. It's on the big map over my bed. India is a pretty big place, you know. We can't go there on VIA Rail. We have to take an airplane. I can fly, you know. I got to pilot an Air Canada jet last summer when we went from Charlottetown to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Captain Henry said, "Charles! You're only five. Who taught you to pilot a jetliner?" I told him that I learned to fly at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre on Sandwich Street. It's part of the Harper Government's pre-school anti-terrorism initiative.

Frankie is showing off. He's sitting in the plate. I'm not going to eat you, Frankie!

We love pakoras!

 We get to order from the menu. I know what a menu is. It's a list of all the foods you can eat. We want pakoras and bhel poori. We love to eat them. They're very yummy. We tell the nice server what we want to eat and she tells the chef and then we can eat!

Chance and Frankie check out the pakoras. Chance is so newborn he doesn't have any teeth but he likes to lick them.

Chance is sitting upside down! He's showing off, you know. That's not very good table manners, Chance!

 

 

 Our food is here. That's good, 'cuz we're as hungry as bears. Grandpa James says, "Charles, don't be a pig!" I'm not a pig, I'm a bear cub. Grandpa James says, "Frankie! Don't wolf your food down!" Frankie's not a wolf, he's a bear cub, too! Chance wants to taste the lassi. He usually drinks chocolate owls' milk but he loves lassi, too.

Everybody at the Bombay Grill House is very nice.

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! Grandpa James hollers, "Where's Frankie? Where's my Knight of Knewfoundland and my Lord of Labrador? 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. Be kind to friends and neighbours. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can go to the Bombay Grill House and eat together! Okay! Over and out!"

Today is Family Day

Chance  (left) and Frankie (centre) and me (Charles) love to play Snakes and Ladders.

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's a handful! Oh. Wait! Frankie lives with us, too!

Know what? Today is a holiday. It's Family Day. I know what a family is. It's us! Our family is me and Chance and Frankie and Grandpa James. We all live together in a nice house on Sparkle Road. That's in Olde Sandwich Towne. Olde Sandwich Towne is in Windsor. I know where Windsor is. Windsor is in O Canada.

We got aunties and uncles and nanas and gramps, too!

I don't have to go to the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre today. We get to stay home and play! We play Snakes & Ladders. Frankie rolled a five. He's gonna move his marker five spaces. I help him count to five. That's easy! One! Two! Three! Four! Five! I have to help Chance count and move his marker for him. Chance is so newborn he tries to lick his yellow marker. I have to say, "My son! Take that out of your mouth! You can't eat yellow markers, my son! Yellow markers aren't in Canada's Food Guide."

Know what's in Canada's Food Guide? Gingerbread persons. We're gonna bake some gingerbread persons today.  I love to bake them. I love to eat them, too! I'm a very good cook. Grandpa James says I'm the Minister of Stirring. Chance is too newborn to help but he thinks he's helping. Grandpa James says Chance is the Deputy Mini-Stir of Stirring. Frankie is a good helper. Frankie is the Bearon of Baking, you know.

 Chance has red mittens. He wears them his red mittens all day long. He wears his red mittens at night when he sleeps, too. Chance is so newborn he thinks if he wears red mittens it will snow. I have red mittens, you know. I only wear my  mittens when I go outside to play in the snow. Frankie has red mittens, too.

Sometimes Chance gets his games mixed up. Look at Chance. Chance climbed into the Snakes and Ladders box. Chance wants to play Hide & Seek. Chance thinks we can't see him when he closes his eyes. Grandpa James says all newborn cubs think they're invisible when they close their eyes. I have to say, "My son! Come out of the Snakes & Ladders box this instance!" Chance can't get out. He makes little squawky noises. I have to help him. Chance is a handful.

We bake gingerbread persons on Family Day. We love to make gingerbread persons but it's more fun to eat them all up! Gingerbread persons are yummy and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide.

 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! Oh, wait! Grandpa James is hollering for Frankie, too! "Where's Frankie? Where's my Knight of Knewfoundland and my Lord of Labrador?"

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. Do fun stuff with your family today. Then you can bake gingerbread persons and have a tea party and eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can play Snakes & Ladders! We can have a tea party, too! Okay! Over and out!"

The Big Adventure Continues: Charles and Chance Visit Signal Hill and the Cabot Tower

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. He's so newborn he doesn't even have any teeth or a tail! He just drinks chocolate owls' milk from his bottle. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Chance and me and our cousin Frankie are on Signal Hill. That's in St. John's. St. John's is in Newfoundland and Labrador, too.  We all know where Newfoundland is. It's in O Canada. That's the first province on the right. I learn about our country from my teacher at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre.

Signal Hill is an important place. Cabot Tower is on top of the hill. It's a really tall fort and a lookout. Know what? Signal Hill and the Cabot Tower would be a great place to play fort. We could get binoculars. We could watch out for pirates and enemy ships and spies and terrorists. Chance can hold the Canada flag and we can holler, "On guard!" and "Ahoy! Keep your enemy ship away from Canadian waters!" Yeah! That would be fun. When we get hungry we could eat Smarties and salted capelin. We could drink pineapple Crush, you know.

Cabot Tower is on a Newfoundland stamp.

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 what St. John's harbour looks like from the top of Signal Hill.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours. Then you can eat Smarties and salted capelin and drink pineapple Crush. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can play on Signal Hill together! Okay! Over and out!"

Visiting the Cardoliogy Clinic

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. That's right by Sandwich Street in Olde Sandwich Towne. That's in Windsor, you know. I know where Windsor is. It's in O Canada. James is really old. Grandpa James 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! He doesn't have any teeth, yet. He doesn't even have a tail! Chance takes off his diaper and climbs way high on things and can't get down. I have to help him. I say, "My son! Come down from there this instant!" Chance makes little squawky noises when he's sad or afraid and little squeaky noises when he's happy.

Today we're visiting the cardiologist. Know what? I'm getting my blood pressure checked by Miss Ann. She has an important job. Miss Ann is a Cardiovascular Technologist. She looks after our hearts. I'm gonna tell you a secret. I think Miss Ann is a Princess. When I grow up I could be a Cardiovascular Technologist. I could help everyone by checking their hearts. I could use a sphygmomanometer to take everyone's blood pressure.

I would give everyone a nice ultrasound, too. That's a movie of my heart. Miss Ann says my blood pressure is perfect. That means my heart is happy and healthy. My movie is good, too!

If you want to have a good heart you have to eat from all four food groups in Canada's Food Guide. I know the four food groups: Yummy, Sweet, Sticky and Nasty. I don't like to eat nasty foods, like broccolis and sauerkrauts, but I hold my nose and take two bites, anyway. Miss Sephorah is my teacher at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre and she taught all of us about the four food groups.

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. Read Canada's Food Guide. Eat from all four food groups. Then you can have a box of Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can visit Miss Ann and get our blood pressure checked.  We can have an ultrasound, too. That would be fun! Okay! Over and out!"

Walk for BANA on Victoria Day

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 we're doing? Chance and me are walking for BANA. It's part of the River Walk. That's our buddy Patrick with us. He has an important job. Patrick helps boys and girls and grownups to learn how to eat good food. BANA stands for Bulimia and Anorexia Association. It's a pretty big word, you know. I can read. I learned how to read at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre.

We walked three kilometres for BANA. People gave us money for walking and we give it to BANA. It's a good thing to do. It's nice to help others. That makes us good citizens.

 It was a nice day to walk next to the Detroit River with His Worship, Mayor Eddie and his family, too. He pulled the kids in their red wagon. There were lots and lots of walkers, maybe a thousand!

Mayor Eddie told everyone that Windsor is 120 years old and this is Windsor's birthday, too. That's really old! I bet James is older than that.

Oh. Wait! It was Victoria Day, too. That's the Queen's birthday. Queen Elizabeth has her very own song. We sang God Save the Queen for her. James says Queen Elizabeth has been sitting on the throne for 60 years. I hope the throne isn't the Time Out Chair. That's a long time to sit and think about what you did.

 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 nice things for others. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can walk for BANA together! Okay! Over and out!"

Remembrance Day

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's a handful!

Chance and me are wearing our poppies. We get them from the nice people at the Royal Canadian Legion. We wear them on Remembrance Day.

Everybody wears poppies on November 11. We remember soldiers at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Know what? this is 2011. That's a lot of elevens!  Lots of folks go to the Cenotaph to remember. Remembrance Day is on the $10 bill with the poem, too.

 I know the poem for today. It's In Flanders Fields. We learned it at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. It goes like this.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

         In Flanders fields.

We remember our soldiers in the Canadian forces and all the hard work they do to keep Canada safe.
 Some of the soldiers are in the Royal Canadian Navy. Some of the soldiers are in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Some of the soldiers are in the Royal Canadian Army.

Our soldiers have important jobs. Some of the soldiers  are peacekeepers. Peacekeepers go to work when neighbours don't play nice. The peacekeepers call 'Time Out' and separate everybody so no one gets hurt. Some of the peacekeepers went to Cyprus and Rwanda and Bosnia. Some of our soldiers belong to DART. The DART Team helps people when disasters strike, like in the United States after Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti and the cyclone in Mayanmar.

Some of our soldiers fight in wars, like World War One and Two and Korea and Afghanistan. Sometimes soldiers die. That's very sad. I sure hope that there aren't any more wars. Wars are not nice.

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. Remember our soldiers. Be kind to friends and neighbours. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can remember our soldiers together! Okay! Over and out!"

Happy Hallowe'en!

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 doesn't have any teeth. He just drinks chocolate owls' milk.  Chance climbs way up high and then he can't get down. I have to say, "Come down from there this instant, my son!" Then I climb up and get him, 'cuz he's afraid.  Chance is a handful!

Know what? We're dressed up. That's 'cuz it's Hallowe'en. We get to go visit our neighbours and friends. We ring their doorbells. When they come to the door we holler, "Trick-or-treat! Smell our feet! Give us something good to eat!" They have to guess who we are. I'm wearing sunglasses 'cuz I'm Ray Charles. Chance has an orange ghost hankie tied around his neck. He's the Littlest Hobo, except he's a Chance the bear cub, not London the dog. Oh. And Chance isn't on TV--yet. When our friends guess who we are, they give us goodies. We got Smarties and gummy worms and gummy bats and pumpkin cookies and Coffee Crisp and Cherry Blossoms and caramel apples and lots and lots of yummy goodies to eat. James will only let us eat a little bit every day. He says he doesn't want us to bounce off the ceiling. I'd like to do that, wouldn't  you?

Hallowe'en is a good holiday. We get to dress up and be very s-c-a-r-y. At the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre we're very, very scary. We shout "Boo!" and scare each other. That's a fun thing to do. At home, James helped us to carve a pumpkin. We made a very scary jack-o'-lantern. Then we put a candle inside. See?

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. Good citizens get to go trick-or-treating. Then you can get Smarties and gummy bats and chocolate bars. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can trick-or-treat together! Okay! Over and out!"

Thanksgiving Day

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 must be more than a hundred years old!

We live in Olde Sandwich Towne. That's in Windsor. I know where Windsor is. It's in O Canada.  Windsor is the centre of the known universe and the nicest part of Detroit. I learned that at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. Know what? We can look out the window and see Detroit.



Detroit is next door but it isn't in O Canada. It's in the Knighted States. They are nice neighbours but they have a different boss. Queen Elizabeth is our boss.

She's a very good queen, you know. I'll share my Smarties with her when she comes to our house. We'll climb the sugar maple in the back yard and I'll say, "Your Majesty, hold out your hand and say 'Please' and I'll share my Smarties with you. Oh. Wait! Your Majesty, don't forget to eat the red ones last!" It's a rule, 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.  Know what? Chance doesn't have any teeth, yet. He just drinks chocolate owls' milk in a bottle. Chance takes off his diaper and climbs way high on things and then he can't get down. I have to say, "My son! Come down from there this instant!. He makes little squawky noises 'cuz he's scared. I have to help him get down.  He's a handful!

Know what today is? Today is super special 'cuz it's Thanksgiving Day.  We get to eat Thanksgiving dinner. It's a special dinner for a special day. Thanksgiving is everywhere! Juanita and Glen have Thanksgiving in Newfoundland. Margaret and Reid have Thanksgiving in Nova Scotia. Andres has Thanksgiving in Prince Edward Island. Francois and Maria have Jour de l'Action de Grace in Quebec. Elizabeth has Thanksgiving up in Tranna. Lois has Thanksgiving in Alberta, too! Bonnie and Terry have Thanksgiving in British Columbia. We're all thankful. Thanksgiving is everywhere! It's really big! This is the day we are thankful. James says we should be thankful every day. Before we eat James asks us to say what we're thankful for.

Okay. I'm thinking about all the things I can be thankful for. I'm thankful we get to eat pumpkin pie today.I l-o-v-e pumpkin pie. It's yummy and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide. Chance and I helped make the pie. We get to stir. James says I'm the Minister of Stirring. Chance is the Deputy Mini-Stir. We get to lick the spoons. I like to stir things, don't you?

I gotta lotta things to be thankful for. I'm thankful for our family. I'm thankful for James and Chance and Uncle D and Auntie A and Lily and Lulu. Some bear cubs don't have any family at all.  I'm thankful for all my friends and buddies. I'm thankful for porridge and Smarties and gummy worms and all the good foods except broccolis and saurkrauts. I hate them. They're nasty and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide, you know.

I'm thankful for the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre and Miss Jackie who used to be my teacher but she sailed away to Halifax and my new teacher Miss Sephorah. I think Miss Sephorah is a princess.  I'm thankful for my blue bike with the Canada flag on it and my Ninja Turtle toothbrush and my Cat-in-the-Hat sox that make me run faster than anyone. I'm thankful for the sugar maple tree and my space ray gun. That fills up the whole paper. That's a lot of thankful!

 Know what else I'm thankful for? Turkey. We got turkey with stuffing. I l-o-v-e turkey and stuffing. The stuffing has Smarties in it. It's really, really yummy.

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 thankful today 'cuz it's Thanksgiving Day. Be thankful every day! Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait!  We can eat pumpkin pie, too! Come over to our house and play with us! We can be thankful together! Okay! Over and out!"

Thinking

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 doesn't even have any teeth. He just drinks chocolate owls' milk in his bottle.  He doesn't have a tail, yet.  I look after Chance, too. He climbs way high on things and then he can't get down. I have to help him. He's a handful!

Know what? I'm thinking. Sometimes I just lie on the carpet and look up at the ceiling and I think. Thinking takes a lot of work, you know. I have to line up ALL my thoughts inside my head. That's what thinking is.

I think about lots of things, you know. I think about Miss Sephorah, my teacher at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. I think she might be a princess. I think about Smarties and gummy worms and root beer. I think about Chance. I think I'd better be a good example so he grows up to be a nice cub, like me.

I think about Thanksgiving. I think about being thankful. I'm thankful for lots of things. I'm thankful we climb on board VIA Rail and go to see Lulu and Lily and Uncle Darryl and Auntie Alexandria. I'm thankful for them. I'm thankful we get to eat yummy food like turkey and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, too!

Sometimes I think about Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas comes to our house every year. She comes on the 24th of December. That's Silent Night, you know. She brings Santa and the elves and the newborn Baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph and the sheep and the shepherds and the little drummer boy and the wise guys who followed the OnStar from Bethlehem to our house. Know what? It's only 108 days until Merry Christmas. I think I'd better be good so I can get presents. I need to think about what to get Chance and James and our buddies and friends, too.

James has a saying about thinking. He says--

If the thought you thought you thought
Was not the thought you thought you thought,
Then the thought you thought you thought you thought
Was not the thought you thought at all!

 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 and think. Thinking is good. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We lie on the carpet and think together! Okay! Over and out!"

Happy Birthday O Canada! Happy Birthday to Me, Too!

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? This is July 1. Today's my birthday! It's O Canada's birthday, too! I'm five. O Canada is 144. That's really old--but not as old as James. We're having a party with the cast and crew and friends of the Crosstown Players. 

Everybody sang  the Happy Birthday Song. We got balloons. Chance tried to eat the balloons. That's silly. We can't eat balloons! Chance is a newborn cubby and he doesn't know better. He tries to eat everything. We ate chocolate birthday cake with white icing and real strawberries. It looks the Canada flag. W had ice cream, too. They're yummy and sweet and sticky. That's three of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide. I'm sure glad it's not broccoli cake or sauerkraut ice cream. I hate broccolis and sauerkrauts. They're nasty. Nasty is the other food group in Canada's Food Guide. I have to hold my nose and take two bites, anyway. If I don't, I have to sit on the Time Out Chair and think about all the starving children in Belgium. James says they'd be happy to eat broccolis and sauerkrauts. I know! I can put all my sauerkrauts and broccolis in an envelope and mail it to them! Good idea!  That's sharing! Sharing makes me a good citizen. Good citizens get to eat Smarties and drink root beer. I shared with my buddies and friends. I gave everybody a box of Smarties. They're my favouritest food in the whole wide world. I wonder if they have Smarties on the moon? I sure hope so.

Know what I got for my birthday? I got presents! I got Legos and a Spiderman cap and an O Canada puzzle and a big toy dump truck and five new story books--My Bible Friends. I can read, you know. That's because I go to the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre on Sandwich Street. I learn lots of things there. Chance likes it when I read to him. He sits really still and he doesn't even try to eat the pages.

Oh! Wait! Did you hear that? That's James hollering, "Where's my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor and 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 he can tickle our ears and kiss our noses!

This is me, Charles the bear cub, saying Happy Birthday O Canada! Happy Birthday to Me, too! Come over to our house and we can eat chocolate cake and ice cream, too! Over and out!

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!"