A Shock to the System: Occasionally, We Are Reminded That Human Beings Have Created an Environment in Which, in Some Ways, We Have Less Control Than Ever Before

Quindlen, Anna, Newsweek

Byline: Anna Quindlen

Whenever you run into a bear out here in the country, someone will invariably ask if it was big. I never really know how to answer. All bears appear large to me, even the cubs. Something about the slope of the forehead, the glint of the eyes, the teeth and the claws. I don't take the time to assess relative size because I am so agog at the sheer bearness of the thing. Unlike Harrison Ford, a bear is not a creature you peer at in passing, thinking, 'Is that really ... ?' It has a certain unmistakability.

The bears have become yet another species on the list of inconvenient animals in this part of America, right up there with the trash-picker possums and, of course, those loathsome shrubbery eaters, the deer. My favorite bear …

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Publication information: Article title: A Shock to the System: Occasionally, We Are Reminded That Human Beings Have Created an Environment in Which, in Some Ways, We Have Less Control Than Ever Before. Contributors: Quindlen, Anna - Author. Magazine title: Newsweek. Publication date: August 25, 2003. Page number: 68. © 2009 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com. COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group.

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