By now, a lot of us have seen the meme about carrying a jackass on their backs in times of crisis. That is, find the jackass in your life and carry them. It's a good message, but a negative one. I'd like to offer a more positive one: find the bear. 1/

https://i.redd.it/wx0optqzznq41.jpg

We all know bears in our lives: difficult, distant, taciturn. They can be a lot of work. And when everything is great, it can be too much. And in times of crisis, we tend to forget them in their woods, because, let's face it, we have jackasses to carry, but that's a mistake. 2/

To prove this, I want to tell you the story of Wojtek the bear. This isn't an apocryphal tale, or myth. This is a true story of a bear in a great time of crisis. This is a story with a happy ending, too, so strap in. 3/

In 1940, what remained of the defeated Polish army reformed in the Soviet Union. There's a lot of geopolitical wrangling here, but what matters is that after two years, they moved to Iran, and fell under the command of the British.
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While in Iran, the Polish army fund a bear cub a Kurdish boy had rescued after the bear's mother had been killed. It spent three months in a Polish refugee camp before being 'donated' to the reformed Polish army. Can you imagine? Poor bear. 5/

The soldiers named him 'Wojtek' (diminutive for 'Happy warrior') and fed him condensed milk until he was strong enough to salute, drink beer (natch!) and wrestle. The Brits didn't really like this. They wanted the Polish soldiers to get rid of it. 6/
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Wojtek_the_bear.jpg

While in North Africa the bear terrorized a spy so much he surrendered. After that he was one of the men. He was ENLISTED as a PRIVATE in the Polish army ad shipped out with them to fight in Italy! 7/
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NINTCHDBPICT000436469575.jpg

There, at the battle of Monte Cassino, he hauled 100 pound crates of ammunition up and down the trenches during the fierce fighting.
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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Ammunition_box_25_Pounder_Grenades%2C_4_shells.JPG

Wojtek survived the battle and the war. After the war, the bear soldier was stationed in Scotland with the soldiers, where he was very popular with the locals. Afterward, he 'retired' to the Edinburgh zoo. 9/

Former soldiers who served with him would come and visit, and spend time with him. He was even featured on Blue Peter (a kids show). He grew to 6 feet tall! He lived to be 21 and died in 1963. 10/
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Wojtek_%28bear%29_statue_in_Princes_Street_Gardens.jpg

What's the point? We all know to look for the jackasses now, that's important. But when this is done, they're still asses.
Look for the bears. B/c they can carry a load we can't now, and when this crisis is over, they will be friends we keep for life. /END https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/images-e.jpimedia.uk/imagefetch/http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/webimage/Prestige.Item.1.69287031!image/image.jpg?width=640