Feature art by Viv Le

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I began my mornings with one thought:

What if a bear came down the road and attacked me right now?

At the bus stop, I would wait for the 87 to come down my street, umbrella in hand, surveilling the road. Usually, there was a pickup truck parked in front of my stop, so I told myself I knew exactly what I would do if a bear were to materialize in front of me.

Step one: drop the bags that weighed me down

Step two: jump into the bed of the truck

Step three: get out my phone and call animal control

To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I was physically capable of hoisting myself into the bed of the truck. You hear so many tales and tricks about what to do when a bear attac...