Ahoy! We're Off to Pelee Island!

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 a tail, yet! Chance doesn't have  teeth. He just drinks chocolate owls' milk out of his bottle.  I look after Chance, too. He climbs up high on things and can't get down. Then he makes little squawky noises 'cuz he's afraid. I have to help. I say, "Charles to the rescue!" Then he makes little squeaky noises. That means he's happy. Chance is  a handful!

We're off to Pelee Island today. I know where Pelee Island is. It's in Lake Erie. It's got water all around it. That's 'cuz it's an island. It's really far south. It's at the very the bottom of Canada. If we sailed any further we wouldn't be in O Canada anymore. We'd be in the Knighted States. That's a different country. They have a different boss. The boss of Canada is Queen Elizabeth. She's pretty nice, you know. She even has her own song.

We go to Pelee Island on the boat. The boat has a name. It's the Pelee Islander. It's a nice boat. James says it can hold 86 passengers and 14 cars. Wow! That's a lot! Know what? Boats have birthdays. The Pelee Islander was born in 1960. That's really old, you know. I'm wearing my life jacket in case the captain hollers, "All hands abandon ship!" I don't think he'll say that today but I'm ready. Chance is too little to wear a life jacket but he can float with me. He isn't heavy. I won't let go. Promise.

When we get to the island we go to the Pelee Island Winery. That's where they turn grape juice into wind. They have picnic tables. We bring out the cooler and set the table. Then we say grace and we get to eat lunch. Know what? All that sailing made me as hungry as a bear. I get to eat egg salad sandwiches and drink Canada Dry. I get to drink out of the can but I don't have thumbs so I have to hold it like a sippy cup. I hope I grow thumbs one day.

  Chance gets chocolate owls' milk. Oh! We get chocolate chip cookies for dessert. We made them yesterday. They're yummy and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide.

We went on a tour. We learned all about baby grapes. Did you know that when they grow up they turn into wine? It's true. It's a good story. We met Steven and Joey. They're the bestest story tellers. They are lots of fun to hang out with. Joey tickled my nose. I love having my nose ticked, don't you?


I'm pretty sleepy. I'll tell you 'bout the rest of our adventure the next time, okay?

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 and true. Help neighbours and friends.  Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can go to Pelee Island together! We can play with Joey and Steven! All aboard! 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!"