March 2013 by Clara H.
L.A. is largely ageist. The city belongs to the young, marketing companies (or anyone for that matter, really) could give less of a crap what seniors are eating or drinking over the weekend, and only A-list celebs like Betty White and Morgan Freeman can still manage to get respect because if any of us have to grow old one day, we'd surely want to be as feisty, wise and lovable as Betty and Morgan seem to be on-screen today. The non-celeb oldies I know in real life are more likely to speak bluntly, judge covertly, envy our youth, admonish us for wasting it, and hark back to better times before we came around to eat their life's savings or dash their youthful hopes and dreams. But nothing binds society more than blood and family ties do. With notable exceptions, a certain level of respect is due to our elders, even when it is not necessarily reciprocated in kind, and all lifelong connections should be properly honored on occasion at any age to maintain harmony and status quo. So whenever you pick up the phone to give your in-laws or family members another chance to exercise their inherent elder rights and lecture you for the umpteenth time to call them and poor Grandma more often, check your irritation, then wait to get a word in edgewise. "Actually, we do think of you often," you might could say, "and a special gift is on the way!" A very thoughtful one, in fact, because this time your gift will be from Best Bear Bunch! Headquartered in Hainesport, New Jersey, Best Bear Bunch (AKA Bears in Chairs) started in the 1980s as one Floridian artist's dream of making personalized heirloom sculptures for her neighbors and friends. The popularity of Sheila Philipp's painted ceramic Bears in Chairs grew to such an extent that they went from being sold in kiosks, stores, and via national distributors, to selling exclusively online at exorbitant prices under new ownership at Best Bear Bunch to worldwide customers in the present day. A small family of BBB bears will likely cost you somewhere around $40 and up, not including shipping, but if you get carried away trying not to leave anyone out like I did, extended family arrangements will probably run you closer to $100 or more. If you've gotten this far and the potential costs are already a turn off, this is probably a good place for you to stop reading. Otherwise, embrace your inner gift maker to begin, then select your arrangement of choice at BestBearBunch.com. Base prices start at $15.99 for the seat (chair, loveseat or sofa) alone and go up from there with the addition of bears and customized items (pets, lifestyle or themed occasion accessories). Arrangements are generally grouped for specific numbers of people, add-ons are limited, and online tools intuitive so that decisions and personalization are easy to make. Note that there is no preview feature, unfortunately, so be sure to triple check spelling and all of your customized picks before Adding to Cart. After you complete your purchase, look for emails from a rep (mine was named "Teddy") who will follow up with you and keep you posted about your order as it ships. So the next time you spare a thought for the oldies in your lives, consider gifting a very cool, retro bear arrangement from Best Bear Bunch! Including everyone that matters and plenty of heart, Bears in Chairs make an instant heirloom (or outstanding paperweight) that might just give your older ones pause to maybe think twice about you, too! Whether you're senior friendly or not, here's an opportunity for you to disassociate yourself from the ageists, and make time and effort to show some tangible love to the people who brought you into this world, and/or raised you at great expense or sacrifice, and/or helped to shape the awesome persons you have become, because whoever they are, they certainly won't be around forever. 50/50 that good karma might just follow!
