Someone Call the Bears!

"Ding-Dong", Fred's News calling! Better know as the dreaded buzzer and the "curse" of our children's existence. The sound of that buzzer, located upstairs in our home, sent chills up and down the boys' spines whenever it sounded. How and why it was called the buzzer is unknown because it actually sounded like the old AVON advertisement "Ding-Dong, Avon calling." It was the signal that help was needed immediately. Unfortunately, our youngest Mark, was usually the only one that heard it. As for the Matt & Todd, the place could of collapsed around them and they would have slept through the ordeal.

Both my dear husband Bill and lovable son Mark share the same astrological sign "Cancer the Crab." Very appropriate during the early years at Fred's. Our customers learned if Bill was quiet, let the sleeping dog lie. Remember Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi", Bill earned the nickname the "Egg Nazi." Mark's bad mood usually were due to sleep deprivation and that God damn "Ding-Dong" didn't help. In all fairness, we usually rang the thing on a weekend morning and poor Mark was the only one that heard it or at least the only one that would admit hearing it,(thank you Mark!) I can remember old Happy Adams saying "Oh no, here comes "Baby Bear"! Obviously Bill was "Papa Bear"! As the years went by, the older boys moved to their own places, Mark went off to college at UCONN, but would return on the weekends to work at Fred's. We tried not to sound the buzzer earlier than his scheduled shift. We were not usually successful, sorry Mark! Long after these episodes of "rude awakening" ended, the stories of Papa and Baby Bear would be remembered.

A number of years later, Papa Bear and I were at The Woodstock Fair and passed one of the artisan exhibits. OMG...carved bears...papas,mamas,babies,sisters,
brothers,every kind of bear possible! Of course we purchased two that would now call Fred's News home. Eventually they were joined by two smaller carved bears from Arizona. These bears brought back to life our earlier years at Fred's News, making us realize just what our family had gone through and how fortunate we were to have kids that were so involved. Soon after we purchased two more bears, slightly more lovable and cuddly! They were overstuffed and during the warmer weather, graced the wrought iron benches in front of the restaurant. Many young people had their picture taken hugging those lovable bears. Between the breathtaking flowers and the cute cuddly bears,beckoning all who passed by, the real secret of the story behind the bears was never known.