Situation Sunday

(Link at left)

Situation #1
You are out rock climbing with friends and halfway to the top you notice a pack of wolves. So you all decide to go back down and make a run for the truck. On the way down you notice a grizzly bear--it is huge....What do you do? { No cell phones}

OK, first of all, the wolves will leave people alone unless they are sick/starving, or if one of us is dead. So I wouldn't run back to the truck in the first place. Even if these wolves are habituated to humans, I wouldn't suggest running. Think of dogs: if you run, they run. Wave your arms, and back away while making lots of noise (throwing things can be helpful, if absolutely necessary).

Secondly, the bear thing? After I peed my pants? Bears really scare me. Seriously, though, how far away is the bear? I know from several points of reference that the best way to avoid a bear attack is to make lots of noise and not 'sneak up' on it. A key point is not running, or making any other quick movements. Back away slowly (this is so rote for me that it's now a joke: "Bill, just back away from me slowly...."). Also, don't climb a tree; some bears can climb, and they also quite tall, so you'd have to climb a LONG way up to get out of their reach. Waving your arms above your head and talking is also a good idea. If the bear does attack you, the best thing to do is to play dead, and stay 'dead' for as long as possible after the attack is over in case he stays to make sure.

In any event, wild animals avoid humans for the most part. They aren't stupid; they generally pick fights they know they can win.

Situation #2 You and your husband/wife or significant other are out locally shopping. A car goes by, that happens to be having something hanging on the bottom of it. You want to go tell them, but you hear from your partner "They know about it, leave them alone." Do you go tell them anyway or just shrug it off as "ya, you're probably right." What do you do?

I'm pretty much a "let it go" person on these things. I'm not going to chase someone down, and if it seems dangerous, I'll just call the police with the license number. However, if we are in the same parking lot, walking, I will probably mention it.

Situation #3
You are out walking/jogging or riding your bike. And you come across a bag with a very large sum of money in it, $50,000. No one is around. What do you do? Now that you have done what you decided to, a month later in the paper is a article about this handicapped person that was robbed of $50,000. Are you happy with the dession you made earlier?

I absolutely would call the police from the get-go. I want nothing to do with 'found money' of this sort. Call me stupid, but having to explain this on my taxes makes it just too complicated to be worth it.