Miss Lorrie Trims Our Fur for Spring

Miss Lorrie holds Chance, Frankie and me on her lap.

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! Oh. Wait! Know what? Frankie lives with us, too! Frankie is four, you know.

Miss Lorrie says, "Lean way back in the chair, Charles. I'm going to shampoo you."

 Today we're getting our fur trimmed so we can be ready for spring. Miss Lorrie is a hairdresser for boys and girls and grownups, too. Miss Lorrie is very kind and gentle. She's the bestest hairdresser for bear cubs, you know. 

Miss Lorrie lives in this big 'ole blue house on Mill Street in Olde Sandwich Towne. That's in Windsor, you know. Everybody knows Windsor is in O Canada.

 Miss Lorrie lives in a famous house. It's blue. It's at 351 Mill Street. It's really, really old but I bet Grandpa James is older! Grandpa James says it's a Queen Anne House. I'm gonna tell you a secret. I think Miss Lorrie is a princess!

Miss Lorrie takes out my hearing aid before she shampoos my head.

I like the shampoo part of our visit. My fur gets really clean. Shampoos are really fun. Miss Lorrie makes lots of bubbles. Bubbles are pretty. Bubbles tickle. Bubbles make us laugh.

When the shampoo is finished I get to sit under the hair dryer. It looks like a space helmet. The air is hot. I could be an astronaut when I grow up. Oh, wait! I might want to be a hairdresser like Miss Lorrie! I know! I will be a hairdresser astronaut! Miss Lorrie and me can cut hair in outer space!

Miss Lorrie cuts the fur around my ears.

The clippers make a little noise but I'm not afraid. I sit very still.

Now, I'm all done and ready for spring! It's Frankie's turn and Chance's turn to sit in the chair. They're very small so Grandpa James has to hold them on his lap. See?

Frankie sits very still for Miss Lorrie. He's a very good cub.

Chance is a newborn cubby. Miss Lorrie shows Chance how to sit. Grandpa James hangs onto him 'cuz sometimes Chance jumps.

Now, we're all done! Miss Lorrie gives us all great big bear hugs. We have to say 'good-bye' 'cuz we wanna go play in the sunshine. "Good-bye, Miss Lorrie! Thank you for all the fun!" We'll come back, you know.

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! He says, "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 visit Miss Lorrie and get our fur trimmed 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!"

Saving the Olde Sandwich Towne Post Office

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 have an important job to do. We have to save our Post Office. Canada Post wants to close it. That's not nice. We can't get to the other Post Office to buy stamps. It's too far away but Canada Post doesn't care.  

Grandpa James helped us make signs. My sign says, "Canada Post Needs to Sit on the Time Out Chair." Know what? I think Canada Post is hard of listening. 

Canada Post needs a time out. The Time Out Chair is where you have to sit if you do something bad, you know. You have to sit on the Time Out Chair and think about what you did. I'm pretty sure Canada Post would not like the Time Out Chair.

Chance has a sign, too. He's so newborn he really doesn't know how to make signs. We help him. His sign says, "Don't Hurt my Neighbourhood." The Post Office is important. We can send letters and packages from there to your house. We buy stamps. We put stamps on the letters. Stamps are what makes letters go!

We helped our Post Office before. We walked the picket line with our buddies from CUPW.

Frankie has a sign. His sign says, "You Can Close Windows but you Can't Close our Post Office." A nice lady gave us buttons to wear. She gave me a whistle. When the people talked we clapped and blew our whistles. Blowing whistles is fun. I could be a whistle blower when I grow up. 

 

There were lots of people. It's called a rally. Our Member of Parliament came to talk to everyone. So did Mr. Jones our City Counsellor. We got to see lots of our friends and buddies and neighbours who live in Olde Sandwich Towne.

Our Post Office is more than a hunnert years old. I can count to a hunnert but it takes a long time.  I learned to count at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. Our Post Office is almost as old as Grandpa James, you know.

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! That's Frankie, too! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! 

Maybe it should say, "From nowhere to no one."

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. Save your Post Office. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can save our Post Office together! Okay! Over and out!"