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"Grandma, tell me a story," was the request that came at bedtime or sitting together on the porch swing or, most often, from the back seat on long car trips.
"O.K. What kind of story would you like to hear?" I asked.
"Any story... maybe about when you were young, or when my Dad was little...How about the times when you got lost?" Or, "Tell me about your pets when you lived on the chicken farm...like when your dog got hit by a car or about Tough-y, your pet rooster."
However, bear stories were the favorite. "But you've heard all the bear stories so many times," I'd protest.
Each grandchild always countered with a convincing explanation. "I like to hear them over and over, especially when Grandpa was charged by grizzly bears. Did Grandpa really cry?"
So, by popular demand, I'll begin with stories about bears.
These are dedicated to my grandchildren, the eager listeners who encouraged me, again and again, to "tell me a story."
About the author
Lynn Ransford was born in Los Angeles, California and moved with her family from the city to a chicken farm in the San Fernando Valley, where she grew up surrounded by a variety of animals. A little like Beverly Cleary's Ramona, or L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, Lynn often got into bits of trouble.Years later she married Grandpa Jack, a mountaineer, who introduced her to animals in the wild and some wild adventures. Grandpa adds, "She still gets herself into a little trouble occasionally." Their 10 grandchildren find stories of those times entertaining, most of all when they encountered bears!Lynn has a Master's degree in Education, three lifetime credentials and is an Early Childhood Specialist. She recently earned her Naturalist Certificate from Siskiyou Field Institute in Selma, Oregon and has written numerous grants in the field of education; articles, curricula, creative teaching materials and books for teachers. Lynn co-writes the scripts for her docent work at the Historic Beekman House in Jacksonville, Oregon, and for Living History programs offered at historic cemeteries in both Ashland and Jacksonville. Lynn says, "dressing up" in period costumes for the roles of Oregon pioneers is "a lot of fun." She also enjoys hiking, camping, quilting, writing memoirs and poetry.Now a retired teacher after 50 years in pre-school through University/Graduate level classrooms, Lynn writes the stories her students loved and ones the grandchildren want to hear over and over. She has discovered friends of all ages enjoy listening to these sometimes funny, sometimes scary, or sometimes poignant, true tales.
