Bear Quotes

“What on earth would I do if four bears came into my camp? Why, I would die of course. Literally shit myself lifeless.”
― Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

“I followed your footsteps," he said, in answer to the unspoken question. "Snow makes it easy."
I had been tracked, like a bear.
"Sorry to make you go to all that trouble," I said.
"I didn't have to go that far, really. You're about three streets over. You just kept going in loops."
A really inept bear.”
― Maureen Johnson, Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances

“When I say or write something, there are actually a whole lot of different things I am communicating. The propositional content (i.e., the verbal information I'm trying to convey) is only one part of it. Another part is stuff about me, the communicator. Everyone knows this. It's a function of the fact there are so many different well-formed ways to say the same basic thing, from e.g. "I was attacked by a bear!" to "Goddamn bear tried to kill me!" to "That ursine juggernaut did essay to sup upon my person!" and so on.”
― David Foster Wallace, Consider the Lobster and Other Essays

“You were the only thing that made me feel safe when the earthquakes threatened to break me. I needed you here because when you're not here, I don't have a home.”
― T.J. Klune, Bear, Otter, and the Kid

“Look, I'll fight, too. What do you think it is? Bear, coyote...?"
"My brother."
"Your..." Dismay pooled in Mark. She'd just stepped over the line of acceptable craziness. "Oh.”
― L.J. Smith, Daughters of Darkness

“I'll call if I break a leg or get eaten by a bear."
"Play like a rock."
"Now?"
"No, if a bear starts eating you."
I thought for a moment before replying. "Do they have screaming, sobbing rocks, 'cause that's probably what I'll be doing if a bear is gnawing my arm off."
"It would be difficult to just lay there and be eaten alive, huh?"
"Ya think?”
― Darynda Jones, Third Grave Dead Ahead

“Dead woman are not romantic,' Sophie said flatly.

'Okay, she's not dead,' Phin said. 'The bear ate her, and she came her brains out.”
― Jennifer Crusie, Welcome to Temptation

“It is never ridicule, but a compliment, that knocks a philosopher off his feet. He is already positioned for every possible counter-attack, counter-argument, and retort...only to find a big bear hug coming his way.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

“Most animals show themselves sparingly. The grizzly bear is six to eight hundred pounds of smugness. It has no need to hide. If it were a person, it would laugh loudly in quiet restaurants, boastfully wear the wrong clothes for special occasions, and probably play hockey.”
― Craig Childs, The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild

“So the gods must mean something else,” said Jix.
“God, not gods!” insisted Johnnie.
Nick threw up his hands. “God, gods, or whatever,” said Nick. “Right now, it doesn’t matter whether it’s Jesus, or Kukulcan, or a dancing bear at the end of the tunnel. What matters is that we have a clue, and we have to figure it out.”
“Why?” Johnnie asked again. “Why does God – excuse me, I mean ‘the Light of Universal Whatever’- why does it just give us a freakin’ impossible clue? Why can’t it just tell us what we’re supposed to do?”
“Because,” said Mikey. “the Dancing Bear wants us to suffer.”
― Neal Shusterman, Everfound

“As one does a bear riding a bicycle. One sees it so rarely.
(Spoken by Volger, on Deryn)”
― Scott Westerfeld

“I bet you could catch bullets,” she said, and threw the stick away. “How do you do that?”

“By not being human,” he said. “That’s why you could never trick a bear. We see tricks and deceit as plain as arms and legs. We can see in a way humans have forgotten. But you know about this; you can understand the symbol reader.”
― Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass

“And now, for something completely the same:

Wasted time and wasted breath,
's what I'll make, until my death.
Helping people 'd be as good,
but I wouldn't, if I could.

For the few that help deserve,
have no need, or not the nerve,
help from strangers to accept,
plus from mine a few have wept.

Wept from joy, or from despair,
or just from my vengeful stare.
Ways I have, to look at stupid,
make them see I am not Cupid.

Make them see they are in error,
for of truth I am a bearer.
Most decide I'm just a bear,
mauling at them, - like I care.”
― Will Advise, Nothing is here...

“Good morning, sunshine,” he said, his smile quickly disappearing in the face of her murderous glance when she raised her face to look at him.

“Shut up and die, morning person. Coffee,” she mumbled.

Right. Note to self. Mate was not a morning person. He poured a cup of coffee and placed it on the table near her hand along with the sweetener and cream. He watched as she poured three packets of Equal into the coffee with her forehead still on the table. He looked on in amazement as she felt around and unscrewed the cap to the cream before dousing the dark liquid. She stirred for a second before dragging the cup to her lips. After a few sips she was able to lift her head. By the time she had finished half a cup she was sitting upright. When she finished the cup, her eyes were open and she was looking around.

“You need to be a coffee commercial,” Connor said, staring at his mate.”
― Alanea Alder, Fated Surrender

“I sit up straighter and puff out my chest a little bit, unsure why I'm doing so even as I do it. I know when I speak I'll have dropped my voice an octave to make myself seem more manly, and when I shake he hand, my grip will be tight and strong. Stupid, I know, but I'm a guy. It's what we do.”
― TJ Klune, Who We Are

“He looked all alone and so sad and so blue,
so I said, “Oh, dear Bear; there’s a home here for you.”
― Ingrid Sawubona, A Big-Bear Birthday, Please! (English version) Un Señor Oso Para Mi Cumpleaños (Spanish version): A bilingual book for English and Spanish readers

“And there was nothing quite like the surprise attack of a snarling black bear, even one missing all forty-two teeth, to urge someone back to work. Waking up with several hundred mud-encrusted, reeking pounds on top of you — your neck suffering a hickey of epic proportions — just pushed the limits on what was tolerable.”
― Cole Alpaugh, The Bear in a Muddy Tutu

“Gracie leaned out the back, craning her neck as far as she could around the side, trying to catch the wind in her nose and flapping lips. She loved driving, and this car was much faster than the truck which hauled her cage. It was very green here, and the sun flashed and flickered behind the tall trees. There were a million smells along this road, both old and just born. She closed her eyes and huffed, pretending she was flying.”
― Cole Alpaugh, The Bear in a Muddy Tutu

“Taking a couple short backup swigs, Flint’s crippling headache started to release its grip, sort of the way he imagined an octopus would release an inedible bowling ball.”
― Cole Alpaugh, The Bear in a Muddy Tutu

“It was a year ago today your daughter went missing.’ Bagg had closed his eyes, feeling the death going on inside.”
― Cole Alpaugh

“I prayed - all the years of my life, i prayed. But you were silent, Lord. If i am making bargains with devils it is only because you abandoned me.”
― Katherine Arden, The Winter of the Witch

“We first seek ruin in the name of love and then ask for strength to bear the aches it brings.”
― Nitya Prakash

“Bear the ills of life without being bitter.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita

“He looked all alone
and so sad and so blue,
so I said, “Oh, dear Bear;
there’s a home here for you.”
― Ingrid Sawubona, A Big-Bear Birthday, Please! (English version) Un Señor Oso Para Mi Cumpleaños (Spanish version): A bilingual book for English and Spanish readers

“We are old; you cannot understand that, that you will or can ever reach a time when you can bear so much and no more; that nothing else is worth the bearing; that you not only cannot, you will not; that nothing is worth anything but peace, peace, peace, even with bereavement and grief—nothing!”
― William Faulkner

“Don't ask me for directions, you'll get lost.”
― Ozgen Halil, Henrietta Hen In Trouble Again

“... If I am correct...
... the secret to this sauce is honey and balsamic vinegar ."
"Got it one, sir! Both ingredients have a mild sweetness that adds a layer of richness to the dish. The tartness of the vinegar ties it all together, ensuring the sweetness isn't too cloying and giving the overall dish a clean, pure aftertaste.
The guide told me that Hokkaido bears really love their honey...
... so I tried all kinds of methods to add it to my recipe!"
"Is that how he gave his sauce a rich, clean flavor powerful enough to cause the Gifting? Unbelievable! That's our Master Yukihira!"
Something doesn't add up. A little honey and vinegar can't be enough to create that level of aftertaste. There has to be something else to it. But what?
"...?!
I got it! I know what you did! You caramelized the honey!"
CARAMELIZATION
Sugars oxidize when heated, giving them a golden brown color and a nutty flavor.
Any food that contains sugar can be caramelized, making caramelization an important technique in everything from French cooking to dessert making.
"I started out by heating the honey until it was good and caramelized. Then I added some balsamic vinegar to stretch it and give it a little thickness. Once that was done, I poured it over some diced onions and garlic that I'd sautéed in another pan, added some schisandra berries and then let it simmer.
After it had reduced, I poured bear stock over it and seasoned it with a little salt...
The result was a deep, rich sauce perfect for emphasizing the natural punch of my Bear-Meat Menchi Katsu!"
"Oho! You musta come up with that idea while I was relaxing with my cup o' chai! Not bad, Yukihira-chin! Not bad at all! Don'tcha think?"
"Y-yes, sir..."
Plus, there is no debating how well honey pairs well with bear meat. The Chinese have long considered bear paws a great delicacy...
... because of the common belief that the mellow sweetness of the honey soaks into a bear's paw as it sticks it into beehives and licks the honey off of it.
What a splendid idea pairing honey with bear meat, each accentuating the other...
... then using caramelization and balsamic vinegar to mellow it to just the right level.
It's a masterful example of using both flavor subtraction and enhancement in the same dish!”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 22 [Shokugeki no Souma 22]

“I used honey from the Amur Cork Tree !"
"Amur Cork...?!"
AMUR CORK HONEY
The Amur Cork tree is a member of the citrus family. Honey made from its flowers has a clear sweetness to it, with underlying hints of bitterness.
Depending on the weather and what other plants are growing nearby, there are years when no honey can be collected from the trees, making Amur Cork Honey one of the rarer, more expensive varieties of honey available.
"Most common honeys would have the thick, mellow richness necessary to adequately accentuate the flavor of bear meat. However, when paired with the strong savory punch of the Menchi-Katsu hamburger steak, that thick and sticky flavor would be too much, making the overall dish taste heavy and cloying.
Not so in the case of Amur Cork Honey! The hints of astringency in its aftertaste match perfectly with the flavor of the bear meat, and it prevents the sweetness from becoming too cloying. In fact, it's astounding how beautifully the two flavors go together!
Not only did Soma Yukihira discover a potent ingredient in honey, he was also diligent enough to think through its weaknesses and search for ways to refine his dish even further!”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 22 [Shokugeki no Souma 22]

“The core of the fragrance Hayama is trying to build...
... is Jeneverbes."
"Jene... verbes?"
"That means juniper berries!"
JENEVERBES (JUNIPER BERRIES)
Perhaps the only spice derived from a conifer, juniper berries have been used as a spice as far back as ancient Egypt. They have been found in multiple pharaohs' tombs, including King Tut's.
In the Middle Ages, juniper berries were added to distilled malt wine to make Jenever, the direct predecessor to gin.
The berries have a piney tang that, as they mature, gains citrusy sweet notes and a fresh herby scent, making it a spice with a complex and layered aroma.
"Add milk and flour to bear stock to make a thick and creamy roux, and then let it simmer.
When it has turned fragrant and golden brown, add the seasonings and spices...
... to make a perfect, fragrant gravy to adorn my fried bear!”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 22 [Shokugeki no Souma 22]

“ The spicy tingle that prickles at the nose is from the alkaloid piperine that's present in abundance in black pepper!
Together with the pyrazine that develops when paprika powder is heated, the two aromas meld together and form the strong base of the dish's overall scent!
The primary herbs used to ameliorate the gamy smell of the bear meat is thyme! The strong, herby scent of thymol- the active component of thyme- beautifully erases any stink the meat had!
Then, uh... there's the cayenne and the oregano... and... uh...
The oregano, and...
"Aaaah! I can't! I just can't!
Anytime I try to think, my mind just screams that it wants more!"
Exquisite!
Every last wisp of the bear meat's scent has been transformed into a powerfully savory flavor!
The delicate complexity of the fragrance and the deep layers of the umami flavor... there is no denying it.
"This dish...
surpasses Soma Yukihira's."
"I rubbed the bear meat with salt, my Cajun spice blend and other spices. I made sure to wrap it in a nice, thick coat of batter when I fried it up too.
Plus, when I marinated it before battering it, I used plenty of juniper berries in the marinade. I ground them in a spice grinder first to really bring out their scent.
Waves of juicy flavor so rich and refined that they even have a hint of sweetness to them should gush out of the bear meat with every bite.”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 22 [Shokugeki no Souma 22]