Bear Attack

It has been a little while since my last post.

I guess we haven't had anything too exciting happen at our house lately.

Leave it to my sister and her husband, Ben, to help us out in the excitement department.

This week Ben went elk hunting in the Kalispell Montana area.

He heard some rustling in the bushes and thought he had spooked an elk when he turned around to see an angry 325 lb grizzly bear charging towards him.

Without hesitating, Ben fired a shot  at the bear - which was enough for her to turn the other direction and leave him alone.  

Ben then realized there were two other grizzlies coming at him from the other direction.

He fired a few more shots, hoping to scare them and then booked it back to his camp.

Once he took his camp down he called the Fish and Game to tell them what happened.

The next day they went back up and found the dead grizzly.

Ben said it was "the worst thing I've had to do in my life.

"As it was running away I could hear that bear bellowing and bawling.

It's going to haunt me 'til the day I die."

The other two grizzlies that were after Ben were the sow's 2 year old cubs.

Fortunately, they should be just fine without their mama.

Ben, on the other hand, is very lucky to be alive.

Several people have not made it out of bear attacks alive - even after firing a shot at them.

Today as I ponder the many things I am grateful for, my family is at the top of the list.

It is so easy to take for granted the fragility of life, and also unfortunate that a near-death-experience has to act as a wake up call.

So here's my Friday challenge to you:

Go out and tell the people you care about that you love them.