A Bear May Be the Best Behaved Guest At Your Party

Maybe it’s time to head home.

My aunt and uncle lived in a place where the TV show The X-Files featured in an episode for many years. Gibsonton, also called Gibtown by the locals, is an unusual place to call home. It’s a coastal community in mid-Florida, twelve miles south of Tampa. It sits in an unincorporated part of the county with special zoning regulations allowing exotic animals like elephants and lions on residential properties.

These unusual regulations also allow large equipment such as Ferris wheels and carousels to sit on front lawns. It was the first town in America, as far as anyone knows, to have lowered counters in the local post office for little people at one time.

This unique town has been home to individuals who became famous through unique circumstances. It was common for circus and carnival performers to settle here near the Ringling Brothers Circus winter home. Individuals who may otherwise be gawked at due to their unusual features or talents felt free to be themselves and to practice their carnival skills without feeling like they were different in Gibtown.

Everyone is welcome

My aunt and uncle fit in well, as my mom’s sister had traveled with the carnival for a while. Being in Florida, their home was no stranger to cockroaches, mosquitos, and other undesirable insects. Their home backed up to a swamp. My uncle frequently brought in items he dug out of the swamp with a smile.

“Look what somebody threw out,” he’d say. One time it was towels, which he wrung out and eagerly asked my aunt to wash, saying they were good as new.

My aunt was a kind soul and meant well. She’d let people stay in their home if they didn’t have a place to stay. She and my uncle had a lot of pets; numerous dogs, snakes, and a wide variety of other creatures. One night my mom was having a lively conversation with her, and my aunt was busy chatting about life.

“We had a party last night,” she said. “And the bear was the best-behaved guest here.”

My mom wondered if she’d had too much to drink or just misheard. “What?”

My aunt laughed. “Yeah,” she belted into the phone. “My friend has this pet bear. He used to be in the carnival; he’s a trained bear. He’s really well-behaved. Everyone else at the party got out of hand. Not that bear, though. He was our best guest.”

They’d talked for some time that night since the two had a lot to catch up on, but that’s the one thing my mom recalls. My aunt’s been gone for over ten years — some things you never forget.