Web Site for Charlie Bear - America's Official Adventure Bear Home / Fun Stuff / Grrreat Adventure Club / Giving Program / Charlie's Blog / Contact Charlie My True Story Hi! I'm your friend Charlie, a True American Bear; originally created at the Hen House by my human mom, Joyce Ditz and my extended family in Norwalk, Ohio. You can check out my grrreat family roots throughout this Web site www.charliebear.com. When I got old enough to leave home, I moved to Chicago and lived in a store window display. The people who took care of me were terrific, and I liked looking out my window, but there was just something missing. I missed the grrreat outdoors. I wanted to explore the towns and the cities; the mountains and valleys; the rivers and oceans on the other side of that window. I wanted to meet the humans and share life experiences. I wanted to travel the USA. One day, from my Chicago window, I spotted my new pal Lynn. What caught my eye BIG TIME was the license plate on her van. I thought this was too good to be true. I might finally get to live out my dream. I could make friends with the humans in my new town and across America. I could share experiences and laughter and joy and fun. It might just happen! Lynn and I took an instant liking to each other and before you know it, I said goodbye to my grrreat Chicago friends and headed east on a big truck to a new home - and a new window and neighborhood. I'll tell you, my new window was a grrreat place to live, but I still longed to travel. Wow! What could I see? Who would I meet? What could I learn? I am a kind and gentle bear and I hoped the humans would like that about me. No doubt about it; I knew in my heart, I really wanted to explore! Soon my dreams came true!! On my first BIG adventure in our BEAR VAN, I traveled with Lynn. We headed for California and back across the grrreat United States, with fun stops along the way. I learned neat stuff from the places I saw and the humans I met. I learned about roads and mountains and towns and cities and how things work. I learned about stuff that happened a long time ago - and stuff that happens right now. AND . . . Most important of all, I learned simple important lessons about life. I learned when I am kind and gentle to other humans, they are kind and gentle to me. I learned that if I get lazy or tired and don't want to finish the adventure I started, I will always wonder "how will I know what I missed, unless I do it?" I learned when I share a fun adventure with a new or old friend, it becomes OUR adventure and we have that memory FOREVER. And, when I lift the spirits of others, and they lift mine, it makes us all feel really warm and fuzzy inside. When you really think about it, that's the best feeling in the world to have. New friends wrote in my travel book and we took photos together. They all became Members of "Charlie Bear's Grrreat Adventure Club.® " You can be a member, too! We shared fun and a connection with each other; and for this bear, it created memories that will fill my heart forever. Follow me as I tell you of my enchanting adventures. These are simple experiences that help us understand the world we share with humans, young and old; experiences that allow us to bring joy to each other for even just a short moment in time. BUT FIRST . . . . . LYNN LEFT WITHOUT ME! I never shared my dreams with anyone. I kind of thought other bears who saw me might think a bear who wants to travel in a van was a silly bear. Lynn and her friends went to dinner the night before she left and they joked with her about taking me along. She thought seriously about it. It almost happened - she tried to fit me in the van with all the other things stuffed in there. You see I'm a straight-up bear - I am a bit physically challenged in that I can't bend at the waist. It was difficult. She couldn't find a way to make me fit ; and she left without me; leaving me to stare out my window for three lonely weeks, and thinking of what could have been. I was very very sad. But I didn't give up! I decided right there on a long shot plan! After all, I never told her about my dream. Because I didn't tell her, how could she know I wanted to travel with her and explore this grrreat country more than anything else? I started doing just that - telling her - as I stood right there in my window! I thought and thought about all the adventures I wanted to share with new friends. I thought about how I had been afraid to express my dreams for fear I would look silly. I learned, in those very moments, that fear can get in the way of what we want and can make us miss out on grrreat things. I thought 'til my head hurt and my heart almost burst! About three or more hours passed by. Lynn was well on her way on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, heading west toward Chicago, my home town. Then my miracle happened. Lynn tells it in her own words: "I was driving along and suddenly, out of the blue, I was overcome by thoughts of leaving Charlie Bear behind. For over half an hour while driving west on the turnpike, I fought the message to return and get him. One side of me was saying, 'There's no room for him. What am I going to do with Charlie on an 8,000 mile trip? He just won't fit.' Another side of me was saying 'maybe taking Charlie on this trip is meant to be, in some way that I don't understand right now.' The thoughts got stronger and stronger and wouldn't go away. It was truly compelling. Three hours out - and another two hours behind a self-imposed schedule, I could resist it no longer and made my decision. I turned around on the Turnpike and returned home. It was a message like no other I have ever received. Little did I know at that time, it came directly through Charlie. The rest is history! And, the lesson I learned? Trust your feelings. Believe, always!" More than six hours passed since Lynn left. I was just about to give up all hope. All of a sudden, I spotted the BEAR VAN coming around the corner. I jumped so high, I just about bumped my head on the ceiling! She removed a big seat from the van, and made room for me to be comfortable - ready at last to start the adventure of my life - and what an adventure it was! I learned another lesson that day: Believe, hope and never ever give up on your dreams. Want to read more? Check out Charlie Bear's Grrreat Adventure books! CHARLIE BEAR'S GRRREAT ADVENTURE® Phone: 703-435-3456 / FAX: 703-435-3470 e-mail: charlie@charliebear.com / www.charliebear.com Web Design by Joan Holman Productions / www.holman.com PLEASE REMEMBER. . . I'm Charlie, a kind and gentle bear who was raised with humans. ALL BEARS ARE NOT LIKE ME. Bears who are raised in the woods look at humans a little differently than I do. If you see a real live bear who bends at the waist or can run really well - and happens to be in the same area you are; be sure to keep your distance. Many bears don't understand that humans are really okay and just want to be their friends. And, most likely, I won't be there to talk Bear language and help you out. Bears can get scared and protective of their own spaces. I've seen it happen with humans, too. Someday, they may understand you. Don't push it; just give them their space and don't get in their way. On the other hand, I am kind and gentle and I am not afraid to look for grreat things throughout my travels in the USA. I hope we'll meet some day and I can be your friend. CHARLIE BEAR'S GRRREAT ADVENTURE ® is a Registered Trademark and a creation of FOCUSED IMAGES Photography, Inc.'s founder, Lynn Bogert Dykstra. Copyright 2006 FOCUSED IMAGES Photography, Inc. All rights Reserved. No part of this web site - text or photographs - may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical for any reason, without written permission from FOCUSED IMAGES Photography, Inc. (other than printing pages, in their original form, for the sole purpose of sharing Charlie's story with your family and friends.) For permission to copy for other reasons, please contact us at charlie@charliebear.com. Charlie is a kind and gentle bear who works hard to meet your requests; but bear in mind, he has friends in high places watching out for him. Illegal reproduction of his work will result in you hearing from those friends. Thanks, in advance, for your grrreat honesty.