Pay Attention! Otherwise You Might Be Eaten

At the ripe ol' age of 27, I figure it's time to place higher emphasis on staying in shape. I've been very good about getting up early the last few weeks and going for a walk before work. Yesterday, I walked further than I ever have on my own and, of course, was feeling quite impressive later when I told my coworker how far I'd gone.

She immediately stopped what she was doing. Her eyes grew enormous and she asked, "You walked there this morning?!"

I bragged about how the walk really wasn't very challenging and how you just have to make the time, even if it means setting your alarm for 5am. That wasn't why she was alarmed.

"Didn't you watch the news this morning? Did you hear all the sirens?"

Honestly, I had heard *something* when I started out on my walk, like the sound of a police officer talking on a megaphone the next street over, but I didn't give it much thought. My coworker asked my route again, then pointed out:

"There was a bear on the loose and they were warning all residents to stay inside!"

Oh...Oops.

Come to think of it, the sidewalks did seem oddly deserted. I'm a lucky, lazy duck. My original plan was to loop back to my house, which meant walking down the bear street, but once I'd neared the corner I opted to turn back the way I'd come (gotta save those extra 5 steps!)

Best of all, I was talking to my dad on my cell phone during my walk. He does watch the news and surely had seen the bear warning. Thanks, dad!