A Sense Of The Whimsy

It was a brief break in the never-ending-rain, and I was driving through a soaked and sullen Easthampton, with my own soaked and sullen thoughts weighing somewhat towards the negative...



Then coming around a corner into town I saw an unexpected sight...



Huh.

Then, not far away, there was another; tucked away unassumingly on the sidewalk between utility poles and store entrances. Painted in ridiculous colors and designs. As if.



The Easthampton Bears have been all over the news and local blogosphere lately. It was my first encounter with them and at first they all seemed very out of place. Almost ridiculous. This is an old industrial town, full of crusty old industrial town people, mostly.

...who authorized this nonsense?



It's an adult town with adult business owners dealing with adult problems...



Bears? Harrumph. Who's got time for bears..?

But then up the road there was yet another one.



And nearby, there... another.



By the fifth bear or so, it began to sink in...



....yeah...bears. Random, painted bears. All over the place.



Why not? After all, do things have to be so serious all the time?



Ehhh, possibly. But still, surely there's room for a little imagination and a little art.

Things weren't always so sullen... the rain will end sooner or later.



Bears...what a ridiculous idea...