Navigation Be a Diplomatic Lawyer
Jim Vickaryous
It was a dark and moonless night. I heard a big commotion outside my house. Reluctantly, I got up to investigate. My heavy front door makes noise when it opens, and the commotion instantly stopped as I stepped into that evening’s darkness. My heart pounding, I walked the short distance towards my garage door. It was hard to see, but two of our large trash cans were left just outside of the garage door. Stepping further into the darkness, I stopped next to the garbage cans. Looking down, I saw the back side of a black bear. She had eaten so much of my garbage, she was stuck in the can and was trying to get herself out. She was now frozen with fear, silent and still, waiting for me to act. A foot away from me, I saw two sets of eyes, belonging to two very small and adorable bear cubs.
When it comes to bears, I am not a hospitable host. However, knowing a mother bear is very unpredictable when it comes to her cubs, I am quite diplomatic when dealing with them. I took one step back and most diplomatically said, “You need to leave.” The terrified cubs turned tail and ran into the darkness. Struggling to get her girth free of my garbage can, she tipped it over, freeing her and dumping my trash all over my driveway. The mother bear ran quickly in the direction of her terrified cubs. Being diplomatic works in most situations, including when dealing with hungry bears. Indeed, the essence of being diplomatic often is what you don’t do.
