Bear Dreams
I had another bear dream last night. I used to have them regularly, but hadn't had one for quite a long while until last night. My usual dream was this: a very large grizzle bear was standing over me. I knew I was going to die, but I wasn't afraid. In fact I was almost looking forward to it. I just asked the bear to make it as painless as possible.
This dream was different. In this story, Joe and I had moved to Victoria. I don't know where our kids were - they didn't appear in the dream. We had gone to visit our friends Ron and Raji, and I was standing in the kitchen at the window. Joe was outside at the window, and we were talking to one another through the glass. All of a sudden a very large Kodiak bear came up behind Joe. I said, "Oh my God Joe, there's a huge bear behind you." I grabbed Joe's arms through the glass and tried to pull him through the window but I wasn't strong enough. Then I said, "Don't worry. I'll go to the door and try to scare the bear away." I started banging on the door, and I think eventually scared the bear off enough that Joe was able to get back inside the house.
Then it seemed the whole neighbourhood was inside the house. They were all in a panic, and in the turmoil I lost Joe. I didn't have a clue where he'd gotten to. I realized I didn't know the address or phone number of our new house, so I had no idea how to reach him or get home to see if he was there. The bear was still hanging about the house, so I was too scared to step outside. I never did find Joe before I woke up.
Not sure why I had this dream, although I was reading a book last night that included a story of Etulu, a soapstone carver who was famous for his bear carvings. Although the name has been changed, the story is true enough. I knew of this carver while living in Iqaluit in the 1980s. His real name escapes me.
'Etulu' had come home drunk one night to find his wife in bed with another man. When the man stood up, he turned into a polar bear, and Etulu heard a voice in his head tell him that he had to kill that bear or he would die himself. He did murder the man, and spent a long time in jail, where he devoted many hours to carving polar bears. I saw a number of them and many appeared in up scale art galleries in Yorkville and Montreal.
The one that will forever stick in my head was a very small one - only about three or four inches long. I swear you could see it move it was so incredibly well done. That carving, by the way, was on sale in an Iqaluit store for $1,000. I couldn't justify buying it at the time, but over the years I have regretted my decision. If I close my eyes I can still see that bear moving inside its glass case, looking for a way to get out.
6:54:42 AM 
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