The Brown Bear

My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.

Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, “Dad! The bear is right behind us!” An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back the sign ( 迹 象 ) of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally, probably because of hunger.

I held my camera tripod (三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.

Even so, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.

The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face; the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move, and I sensed that my bones were going to break.

Drawing back my free hand, I struck the bear as hard as I could for five to six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur, trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling with the bear at this point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back towards the forest, before returning for another attack the first time I felt panic.

Obviously satisfied that we caused no further threat, the bear moved off, destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured, but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I’m proud that my family remained clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome.

Chris Kyle is an entrepreneur(企业家), so he’s always looking for ways to support his fellow small business owners. Chris says he feels fortunate that his work allows him to spend a lot of time at home, so he can be fully present for each stage of his daughter Ava’s life. He was skeptical when his wife purchased Ava a toy kitchen set, but his daughter adores it and has now become a “small business owner” in her very own living room!

“When my wife made the purchase, I was hesitant about spending a few hundred dollars on it,” Chris explained. “It has been worth every penny. Ava is the star of her own little world when she is ready to play.” Chris paid a visit to his daughter’s at-home restaurant and shared his frank but funny “review” on his Instagram page. “So I tried to support another Black Owned Business for lunch today,” he wrote. “It’s called Ava’s Kitchen, just opened the end of April. It’s a very clean kitchenware, but let me tell you about this owner.”

“First of all, I asked why there are balloons on my chair, and it’s not my birthday?” Chris continued. “She said those are Mommy’s.” But Chris didn’t stop there. In addition to the questionable choice of balloons as a decoration, he said the service at Ava’s Kitchen was not exactly putting the establishment anywhere near the Zagat scale. “I have been waiting on my order to get done for 45minutes, and I’m the only customer here,” wrote Chris. “She was making good progress at first, then she stopped for 20 minutes to go to watch Paw Patrol. Overall the customer service could be better, but the cook is lovely. So I’ll give her another chance.”

Chris and Ava are thrilled that their post went viral. I’m glad to see our post shine bright in the lives or people around the world, said the proud dad.

When I arrived in London I couldn't speak a word of English. Not even "hello". Nothing. I was 18, I'd been working for my dad's restaurant in Milan and I wanted a new experience. My friend from home lived in London and he used to tell me how incredible it was. I was really bored and so I took my luggage and left.

I was so lost when I arrived at Stansted. To me, English sounded like Chinese. I only arrived with a few hundred pounds. I lived with my friend in east London for a while. I couldn't find a job for a month. Finally I found a waiter role in a restaurant. At the time, I had nothing else going on in my life. I used to get up, go to work, and sleep. It was so boring. Then one day on my lunch break, I saw a Gymbox. When I took a look in, there was an amazing Muay Thai. I used to do boxing when I was 15 but I wasn't that serious about it. There and then I joined the gym and signed up to the Thai boxing team.

I fell in love with it. I never missed a session. I started training a lot and the head coach said to me one day, "Do you want to fight？" I knew that's what I wanted to do. He put me in competitions and I won my first nine amateur games. After watching me progress, they offered to help me fight professionally. However, at one point I had a motorcycle crash and was out for 18 months. This year I've fought in Milan and London. I'd say I'm about 12 fights away from becoming a winner.

Sometimes I can't believe how far I've come from that day I arrived in England. I think everything that's happened has been because I'm committed. But anyone could do it. If you put in 100%, you'll get there. I'm just happy because I did a positive thing with my life. It feels good.