We watched the bouncing headlights as they crawled across the frozen arctic landscape. The three of us were excited to get inside the truck with its blast furnace heaters. When it arrived, the driver yelled, “I have to go get another crew. A polar bear was spotted close to them. I’ll be back ASAP.” It was 62 below, pitch black, and there was a polar bear in the vicinity. What about us? We kicked a shallow dent in a snow drift and lay down out of the wind. Would he return? Would we be eaten? Would we freeze to death?
Bradford D. Smith was born in Juneau, Alaska and raised in a northern Canadian gold rush town. Author, film maker, amateur photographer, and dog lover. bradfordsmithauthor.com