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Too good not to share ~ by (from his FB post)
1/?

Today seems like a good day to share a story I wrote about a famous bear, from my book On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down:

My best friend is a paramedic. When he was new at the job he was in the back of an ambulance with an injured child. The kid asked... cont'd

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Get my sweary history book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN at ๐Ÿ”— jamesfell.com/books

ยท 1ยท 1ยท 2

by (from his FB post)
2/?

... my friend to sing to him to take his mind off the trauma. My friend broke out into the only childrenโ€™s song he knew: the story of Winnie the Pooh. Itโ€™s based on a real bear.

On the eve of World War I, Canadian Lieutenant Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian, was traveling by train... cont'd

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Get my sweary history book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN at ๐Ÿ”— jamesfell.com/books

by (from his FB post)
3/?

... from his hometown of Winnipeg to the Atlantic coast to catch a ship for Europe to face battle. During a stop in Ontario on August 24, 1914, he encountered a hunter who had killed a black bear, only to discover the bear had a cub. Knowing the bear was doomed to die, Colebourn ... cont'd

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Get my sweary history book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN at ๐Ÿ”— jamesfell.com/books

by (from his FB post)
4/?

... said hey Iโ€™ll give you $20 for the cub. โ€œSold!โ€ said the hunter. Named โ€œWinnipeg Bearโ€ for his home, and later shortened to Winnie, the bear cub tagged along with Colebourn on the ship bound for England.

While there, Winnie became something of a mascot to the Canadian soldiers... cont'd

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Get my sweary history book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN at ๐Ÿ”— jamesfell.com/books

by (from his FB post)
5/?

... of cavalry regiment Fort Gary Horse camped in Salisbury Plain. When they werenโ€™t training for the front lines in France, they played with her. Yes, I know the cartoon bear is male, but the original Winnie from Canada was female.

Colebourn kept Winnie at the London Zoo. He ... cont'd

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Get my sweary history book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN at ๐Ÿ”— jamesfell.com/books

by (from his FB post)
6/?

... served three years in the war as a cavalry veterinarian, attaining the rank of major. Winnie attained the rank of internationally beloved bear thanks to the creative efforts of A.A. Milne. Colebourn frequently visited Winnie at the zoo while on leave, and had intended to bring ... cont'd

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Get my sweary history book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN at ๐Ÿ”— jamesfell.com/books

by (from his FB post)
7/?

... her back to Canada with him after the war, but when he saw how beloved the bear was by children visiting the zoo, he decided it was best for her to remain in London. One of the children who became enamored of Winnie was Milneโ€™s son, Christopher Robin Milne.

ChrisRob loved ... cont'd

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Get my sweary history book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN at ๐Ÿ”— jamesfell.com/books

by (from his FB post)
8/?

... Winnie so much he named his own teddy bear Winnie, adding โ€œthe Poohโ€ because his friend had a pet swan named Pooh so why the fuck why not? Also, a fucking swan for a pet? Swans are basically geese, and geese are fucking evil. You thought I was gonna get through this one without ... cont'd

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Get my sweary history book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN at ๐Ÿ”— jamesfell.com/books

by (from his FB post)
9/10

... swearing, didnโ€™t you? But then the motherfucking geese showed up. Anyway โ€ฆ

A.A. Milne, inspired by his sonโ€™s adoration of Winnie, published Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926, creating ... cont'd

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Get my sweary history book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN at ๐Ÿ”— jamesfell.com/books

by (from his FB post)
10/10

... what would become one of the most beloved childrenโ€™s characters of all time. The real Winnie lived at the London Zoo until her death in 1934.

/fin/

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Get my sweary history book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN at ๐Ÿ”— jamesfell.com/books

@CLManussier I've always gotten along quite well with geese. Perhaps it's a birds of a feather thing.

@CLManussier I've watched human-goose relations for quite some time. The problem appears to come from the fact that geese don't speak "human" and aren't smart enough to learn, and most humans never learn to understand goose.

Geese can be chill if you don't do things that press their buttons. But normal humans-in-civilization behaviors scare or rile up geese.

@AskTheDevil

That's actually a solid analysis. Most human problems with animals are our failure to understand how they operate and adjust accordingly.

@CLManussier I have been interacting with non-human animals for a lot longer than I have the human sort, so perhaps I simply have more practice with geese and other critters.

I'm still learning how to interact safely and well with humans. Geese are easy.

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