Stephanne: Humble pie? I'll have a double serving, please. A true story read and written by Stephanie Payne. Some people don't like when they do something and they're corrected later. Me? Heck, I'll take a second serving. The best way to learn is if you really listen to advice from experts, from people who know more about something than you. And I mean experts here. Not the average guy mansplaining because he thinks he knows more than me simply because he came with a Y chromosome and I'm talking about outdoorsy stuff. Those types, they can just kiss my tush. The key is listening with an open mind and a decision to learn rather than to defend your actions or knowledge. That's really one of the best ways to learn. In my case, I was served a giant portion of humble pie surrounding a bear charge. In case you don't remember that one, it was about a mama black bear who over a couple of weeks went from three cubs down to two and then bolted fifty yards downhill at me and my daughter, stopping a few feet from us. Yeah, good times, So I'm talking to a bear expert. I don't want to use his name because I didn't ask permission. But I promise you he has worked hand in paw with Eastern Black Bears for many years, and he is very versed on their behavior and how to work with bears. I trust his input and I don't question it. Why? Well he has the knowledge and the experience and the credentials to prove that I am merely a toddler in the scope of bears. That being said, here's the humble pie part that was an eye opener for me, and it's a bit scary in retrospect. So Me and Jess's my daughter's actions were perfect for a solitary bear, usually a male that's too close for comfort. On the flip side, for a mama bear in protection mode, as witnessed initially from two cubs being sent up a tree, my reaction wasn't recommended because mama's thinking one thing. Keep cubs safe. Jess and I, we posed a threat, and the recommended action would have been to speak softly, lower my head, And slowly back off. Well, I did the opposite of that for the most part, and my wildlife expert Bud noted that he was glad it ended well instead of the alternative. not so secretly, me too. I looked bigger and imposing and made a lot of noise. Perhaps the fact that we did slowly back off was what kept us safe. In retrospect, again, I see where this makes sense. I see where my education on bear behavior wasn't precise. I used generic info that I had been fed for years and I should have learned more. Especially because I knew the mom and cubs were local to my trail. I knew it. And I dropped the educate myself ball. Granted, bears aren't my forte, but my motto is to always know what's out there that you could encounter and be prepared for any situation. I slacked. I have been corrected. I have assimilated the information and I won't make the same mistake again. Humble pie is not only delicious, but nutritious. So take this knowledge of how I didn't react in the way I should have and add this to your mix. Bluff charges aren't usually fifty plus yards. Apparently, they're normally pretty short, like a few yards, not fifty. So wow. Just keeping that fact in perspective with the other info is really eye-opening. The only thing that apparently made mine a bluff was that she stopped before barreling into me. I did get a compliment though. He said that under the same circumstances, it was really good that I was able to assess the situation and react at all. Apparently acting in the face of an sh hard. So it's like muscle memory though. You go over it and over it in your head or physically if you can, and then when it happens, it's an instant reaction rather than a conscious digging for information inside your head. Now I'll revamp that info so it's more appropriate and situation based. In the end, I'll take the info I was taught and I will beat it into my head so that if the situation ever comes up again, I'm better prepared. Which is likely. After all, hundreds of miles away I encountered another mama in her cub. Some people may say, Yeah, but you were in a car that time. Hello, it was a convertible Camaro. Jeez, I missed that car. I think I might need to buy one. I'm digressing, aren't I? Alright, but let's not forget that I'll really glow in the compliment about the reaction time. See, sometimes humble pie has whip topping.