Churchill

The Johnson family moved to Churchill, Manitoba so that Jordan’s dad could study polar bears. Churchill is situated on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay and lies near the southern limit of where polar bears are able to live year-round. Polar bears prefer to remain on the sea ice where they can hunt seals but in areas where the ice melts in the summer, like southwestern Hudson Bay, the bears are forced ashore until the ice refreezes in the fall. During this period of time, the bears are not actively hunting. They must survive on fat reserves that they have built up through the winter. They spend their time in what’s called walking hibernation. It was the phenomenon of walking hibernation that Jordan’s dad was most interested in. Churchill is just about the best place in the world to study it. While the bears are waiting for freeze up they can be seen congregating on the shore, not far from the town of Churchill.  Most of the bears stay out of town but as the fat reserves get low, and if the freeze up is late, they are lured into town by smells of food and garbage.

Jordan’s mom, Ingrid was not very happy about the move. She agreed to go because it was only going to be for two years. His sister, Raven, who was eleven at the time, was spitting mad at her parents for dragging her away from her friends to a frozen wasteland. She made them promise that she could spend all of her vacation time back with her friends in Calgary. Jordan was in grade three at the time and had no say in the matter whatsoever. Four years later, his dad was still studying the bears. His mom had gone back to Calgary, because a deal’s a deal, and she had kept her part of the bargain. The new deal was that the children spent the school year with their dad and their vacation time with their mom. This wasn’t ideal but everyone made the best of it. Mr. Johnson’s research post allowed him to flex his time around the children’s timetable. He worked from home quite a bit. He made sure he was available for all Jordan’s hockey practices and games and for Raven’s drama club. Raven was still mad a lot of the time but she was beginning to see some of the advantages of living there. She liked to read and to write and the long winter nights gave her a good excuse to stay inside. And then there was Akiak, who had lived in Churchill all of his life. He was cute and could make her smile even when she was in a really bad mood. 

Jordan thought Churchill was okay, more than okay. He could play hockey all year. He and his best friend, Derrick, practiced their skills year round on just about any old surface with a bit of ice on it, and Churchill had a lot of ice. They played wing forwards together on the Churchill Flyers peewee team. Jordan skidooed to school most of the year and Derrick’s dad had a dogsled team. How awesome was that!

Halloween

That young polar bear had picked the worst time of year to wander into Churchill. He had rummaged through the old dump on the outskirts of town for several days before curiosity and his innate sense of wandering urged him closer into residential areas. Most people were pretty careful about keeping their garbage secure but occasionally someone would carelessly leave an old piece of stripped carcass from a hunting trip in an open bin. Once a bear found a good source of easy food, he would keep coming back, looking for more. This young bear had found a bin with some stinking whale blubber in it. He had knocked the bin over and out rolled the best bit of food he had eaten in weeks. He had been chased off by the bear patrol, but two days later he was back. It was October 31. Jordan and Derrick had spent the last hour in the bathroom preparing for an evening of trick or treating.

     “Open the bathroom door, Jordan,” demanded Raven. “You’ve been in there for over an hour. I’m going to be late. Open up NOW!”

     “Zere is no Jhorden here. Zere is ze Count here and zere is Siegfried here. Vat do you vant?”

     “Pass me out my contact solution, you little twerp.”

Raven could hear banging of drawers and cupboards, several muffled snorts and laughs, before the door opened a wedge. A white-gloved hand holding a small plastic bottle stretched out through the opening. “I hope that’s the only white thing you’re wearing,” said Raven snatching the bottle. “Remember the safety rules. No white costumes. You don’t want to be mistaken for a polar bear.”  Raven started to fumble in her purse. “Shoot! Now where are my contacts?” She sat down on the top step of the stairs and dumped the contents of her purse onto the carpet. A bunch of keys, her wallet, two movie passes, a tweezers, a hairbrush and finally the small round plastic container she was searching for tumbled onto the deep pile of the shag carpet. Oreo strode across the landing and brushed up against Raven shedding a slick of black and white fur across her green corduroy pants.  Raven stroked the cat between her ears and tickled her on her favorite spot just under her chin. Raven was particular about how she looked and how she dressed but she had a soft spot for Oreo and never seemed to mind having to brush the fur off after Oreo had finished snuggling up to her. Raven lifted Oreo up and walked with her into her bedroom and placed her on the bed.

     “Good, pussy. Now stay there,” she coaxed. Raven put in her contact lenses and walked back out onto the landing to be met by two white faced, blood drooling vampires with black capes held together with batwing clasps. Raven gasped then burst out laughing.                                                                                                                  

      “Not bad, you two meatballs. Now don’t forget to be back by curfew, and stay away from Hendry Street. A bear was spotted there last night.” One of the vampires was short with thick straight black hair. That would be Siegfried. The other was taller with curly brown hair gelled down flat against his head. That would be the Count. 

     “Ve are not afraid of bears,” scoffed the Count

     “Listen Count smarty pants. I’m serious. We are right in the middle of bear season. Stay together in groups and don’t go down Hendry Street. Got it?”

     “Yes sis, we got it.”

     “Now where is my lip gloss?” asked Raven as she checked her purse for a second time. The two boys bolted down the stairs towards the door. 

     “See you later, sis.” 

          “JORDAN!  DERRICK!”

Outside it was already dark with a light snowfall. Both boys were dressed warmly beneath their costumes. They walked the length of Radison Boulevard, up Foxe Street and on to Button Street, stopping at every home with a lit up lantern along the way. Their pillows were starting to bulge with treats. They could see bear-patrollers at the corner of Hearn and Button. The lights of the emergency vehicle were shining away from them, down Hearn. 

     “Do you think there might be a bear there?” asked Jordan. 

     “Don’t know, but I hear that Johnny Mac’s auntie makes great toffee popcorn balls,” replied Derrick.

     “Awesome! Where does she live?”

     “On Hendry Street.”

      “What if that bear is still there?”

     “I think he must have moved on to Hearn Street. That’s probably why the emergency vehicle is shining its lights.”

The boys stopped at the corner of Hendry and Button. Johnny Mac’s auntie’s house was half way down the street. It was lit up with a large Jack O’Lantern. The street looked empty except for a small group of kids and adults at the very end of the street.

     “Looks like the coast is clear,” said Derrick. Want some delicious toffee popcorn?”

     “Okay,” replied Jordan, as the two boys started to head down Hendry. They felt a bit spooked so they didn’t stop at any houses along the way. They headed straight for the toffee popcorn. As they got closer to the house they saw people waving and shouting from the end of the street. They noticed the door of the house was open. Nobody left the door open at this time of year. A cold chill ran down Jordan’s spine. They were at the steps of the door. They heard crashing, then hissing noises, followed by a loud bang. They turned to run towards the crowd at the end of the street. Derrick was in the lead. Jordan looked over his shoulder and saw a white mass of fur burst through the door. It was heading towards him. He screamed and ran faster than he ever thought he was capable. It was a crazy scene. Two boys being chased by a bear, heading towards a crowd of adults and children who were not sure whether to run or stand their ground to provide protection for the boys.

Then a blaze of light blinded the boys as an emergency vehicle rounded up Hendry Street from James Avenue. The crowd scattered. The vehicle was racing towards them blaring its horn. Tears of terror streamed down the boys’ cheeks as they sprinted towards the light. They heard a screeching of brakes, the horn still blaring. Two officers got out. One officer half pushed, half lifted the boys into the vehicle. The other had a rifle. He took aim and fired.     

Mr. Johnson sat on his son’s bed silently, looking into Jordan’s drawn and worried eyes. He knew the boys’ reckless behavior could have had them killed. They were old enough to know better. He wanted his son to understand and respect the environment in which he lived. Some people said that polar bears were encroaching on Churchill, but Mr. Johnson believed that Churchill was encroaching on the bears. He could see that Jordan was traumatized and had learnt a terrifying lesson. Finally he spoke.

    “Every time you risk encountering a polar bear you not only risk your own life but also the bear’s life.” 

     “Is he dead?” asked Jordan, tears starting to moisten his eyes.

     “Tranquilized, but he may as well be dead,” replied his dad. “The Ministry of Natural Resources has decided to ship a load of bears to a zoo in Germany. Your bear will likely be shipped with them.”

     “Then, he’ll be okay though, right, Dad?” Mr. Johnson did not approve of polar bears in zoos. He believed that because the bears were adapted to survive in vast territories and cold weather conditions that living in a zoo was a life sentence of unnatural miserable conditions. 

     “It’s ridiculous to hold Halloween in Churchill,” he replied without answering. “It’s right in the middle of the bear’s migration through Churchill. Kids walking around the street in the dark with a sack full of candies,” he scoffed. “It’s just looking for trouble.”

     “But he is going to be okay, Dad,” Jordan repeated, looking for hope and his father’s forgiveness. Mr. Johnson leaned over and tousled his son’s hair. 

     “Go to sleep, son. We can talk some more in the morning.”