5:00 a.m.

I woke up to a public announcement. It was making circles around my apartment building (and the apartment buildings around mine). I couldn’t understand the message, as it was in Japanese and I was still mostly asleep. I ignored it altogether. Then, at 6:00 a.m., I was awoken in the same way: A man in a tiny car was shouting some kind of announcement through a megaphone (I’d gotten out of bed to see). What is going on?

These days I live in total oblivion. I am constantly confounded.
(I went back to sleep.)

When I got up to go to work, Nagahama appeared unchanged. But about one hour ago, during fourth period, I heard the announcement again. This time, the man in the small car with the squawk box was toodling about outside the high school where I work. The students immediately jumped out from behind their desks, raced to the open windows, and stuck their heads out to hear. Then they casually reclaimed their seats.

What is going on? I asked the class. Then, in their cryptically limited English, they said, simply, “Bear. Caught”--all in this annoyingly matter-of-fact tone.

Apparently a mid-sized bear had been traversing the streets of my town all day and everyone knew (because of the fella with the megaphone) but me. The guy in the car had been following the bear around Nagahama, announcing its presence to nearby residents, all day. That’s what woke me up at 5:00 this morning! It took the town all day to finally catch this bear and boot him back to the mountains on the outskirts of the city. Elementary and junior high school classes were canceled because of this bear-on-the-loose rumpus. What next?



5 Comments for this Entry

Ryan
your life is currently my favorite comic strip, i just wish it was a daily...
Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - 03:29 AM

Jacob
We're here! We're clear! We don't want anymore bears!
Thursday, October 19, 2006 - 06:58 AM

D'edward Deth
They should have shot the bear for its gall bladder and sold it to the Chinese, as is the style.
Monday, October 23, 2006 - 05:35 PM

nolan
Turns out they DID shoot the bear dead after it broke into two Japanese homes and attacked a police officer. As for the fate of its gall bladder, yeah, probably straight to Beijing.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 07:59 AM

natalie
:(
Friday, October 27, 2006 - 11:22 PM