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“The Bay Ridge Bears!!”
Welcome!
You have just entered the virtual home of -
“The Bay Ridge Bears!!”
It’s “The Bears” 10th Anniversary!
10th Anniversary book now available in hard and soft cover!
In the beginning, there was Rusty, a bear on a mission to clean up the forest! While clearing out an abandoned cabin, he found a tablet. Instead of eating it, he learned how to use it, and created stories - bearie tales - for his little cubs.
His Brooklyn teddy bears, or teds, have travelled from an underground playroom, to Elizabethan England, the American Revolution, and many other amazing places.
Smarter than the average grizzly, he figured out how to compile his first five books into one edition. He is very proud of that accomplishment. His cubs, not so much.
Excerpt: “The Lost Book”
Prologue
Cool wind burst through the casement shutters of the Tudor cottage, rippling pages, cancelling the light. It snapped her out of a daydream, as she got up from the table with a start. She pushed back wisps of her long hair, locked the window, added wood to the fire and relit her candle. Fall was slow walking toward her home. The sun was gradually setting earlier. The leaves were turning, and so was her mind. How she hated the onset of the cold dark days. No matter how many years marched on, this season would always bring her back to that time, reliving the losses she suffered during the plague….
But, that was a lifetime ago. She remarried and had a very comfortable life, with a man who loved her and her children. She was now the grandmother of a healthy little girl, named for her. Although there was new joy in her life, the cold weather brought back a melancholy that she could not shake. Perhaps, the reminder of her own mortality made her purchase a diary. (She had never written in one before.) There was something that had lately been haunting her. A story, or recollection, from her grandfather that she needed to record for her granddaughter….
She sat at the large wooden dining table, head in hands, and gazed at the blank diary. Half an hour went by. She was unaware that she was being watched.
“Yellow Hook”
Trudye Hunnisett
Her mother’s quick English wit was disarming, and hid her true feelings about the occupying army encamped on her property. Her cooking became renowned. So much so that many meetings amongst “visiting“ military officials were moved to their farmhouse’s elegant dining room.
No one minded the sweet little girl who seemed to be around whenever there was a meeting. She was treated very kindly. Her mother realized that their attentions might change toward her beautiful daughter as she got older. To keep her safe, she wisely instructed her to play the part of a younger girl. And it worked.
No one would have suspected that the child now gaily preparing for a tea party with a pet squirrel, was actually fifteen.
Trudye was a natural born actress.
And no one, including her parents, would know that she was eavesdropping on the soldiers conversations and sending messages to the patriots.
Trudye was also a natural born spy!
Excerpt: “Yellow Hook”:
Bodies of American soldiers were washing up all along the shore. The feeling of disgust rose in the two men.
“To think, Doctor, that we two fought for the Crown in their French and Indian War. And, how were we recompensed for our efforts? Contempt from their soldiers, more bloody taxes, and more interferement in our lives.
To think, Doctor, that they could treat our brave young men (their colonists) like animals, leaving them to rot in the hold of their stinking ships. No, I take that back, they would never treat their prized horses or pets dogs in such a manner.
To think, Doctor, that some of our closest friends and relatives could side with the enemy and spread propaganda just to dispirit those who were risking their lives for liberty. To think, Doctor, that all of this misery and horror was caused because a group of people demanded their God given rights.
I thank God that he granted us this victory, but I fear for my son. I’d rather not know his whereabouts than learn that he was imprisoned, because, so help me God, I would kill the first redcoat officer that crossed my path.”
About those bears
Is there anyone who doesn’t love teddy bears? If there is, I don’t want to meet him.
My bearie tales are for everyone, no age restrictions. My teds are not cute and childlike. They are strong, intelligent, funny, loyal and adorable - but then, I’m prejudiced. These characters are not a memory from childhood, but sprang up when I was in my 20’s and received Winnie, as a Christmas gift. That started the march of teddy bears back into my life.
Winnie was named for Winston Churchill. I was watching a documentary about the Prime Minister. My next bear became his father, Randy (Randolph).
One day as we were leaving for a vacation in England, my sister asked me what the bears would be doing while we were gone. That started the bearie tales. My mother became interested and questioned how they were able to go off on their adventures. The logical choice was a secret world they entered through the wooden bench, that opened for storage. It was my old toy box. I still have it.
As time went on the stories and characters grew. The horse family cracked up my sister and mom, especially their names: Tony and Joanie, and their boys- Vito, Guido and Baby Earl. They both thought that I should write these stories.
Decades late, after they had left for heaven, the time was right and I wrote my first book.
My dad passed before these characters had a life of their own. However, he might have been the instigator. My mom said that when she was expecting me, for some reason my father was getting anxious. She was calmly crocheting a sweater for me and he asked her to show him how to sew. She laughed and gave him a choice of baby bibs to cross stitch. He picked the bibs with teddy bears. She said he did a great job. I wish I had them. I wish I could have seen my blue-collar worker dad embroidering.
My teds are a tribute to my funny, intelligent and loving family: Russell (Rusty), Mildred (Millie) and Susan (Susie). They made me who I am - they have a lot to answer for....
Hey, it’s me, Andy! You can contact us at:
What’s her name’s Author Page:
Links to purchase books, plus news on latest projects.
COMING ATTRACTION: IN LATE 2025!
”On Chrystal Shores”
A wealthy man, cast adrift with his friends, on the Mediterranean Sea, in a boat with no sails or oars. As they approach Marseilles, he contemplates what occurred five years earlier, when the world turned upside down. He continues north and lands at a place called Avalon, in the year 38 AD.
Ciao, from THE BEARS!
