'My trap had worked': Touring Karen demands to be taken into bear territory, tour guide gives her a scare

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    Font - Karen demands to go through bear territory, almost gets mauled by a grizzly. LOC So, for a little context: This story is not mine. This happened to my father in the 80s and the 90s, but I will write in the first person because English is hard.
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    Font - In the 80s, I lost everything I could. I dropped out of college, my father died of a heart attack, and my mother was somewhere in the wind. I wasn't worth the air I was breathing. As a last effort, I saved up some money to move to a different state so that I could start fresh. I chose Montana to be my new home.
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    Font - Because I didn't have a college degree, I knew I could only make a living with my hands and not my head. After a bit of looking around, I found work on a ranch. The owner of the ranch, let's call him Jack, took me under his wing. He taught me how to ride a horse, how to herd, how to do cutting, roping, and many other useful skills on a ranch.
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    Font - My goal was to have enough money for a deposit so I could buy a house, or at least some land. After about 3 years, I had the money, but I loved the ranch and the folks so much that I chose to stay longer. In the spring of '88, I finally made the decision to quit. I was fully honest with Jack about what my intentions were. I told him that I wanted to buy some land to have a ranch of my own and potentially get married and start a family. Being the absolute champ, Jack offered me some contac
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    Font - After some time, I chose a piece of land near Jack's ranch. I got a loan, bought the land, and in the summer, I started building my house. By winter, the house was done, and it was planned that in the spring, I'll build a barn and some fences, corrals among others. In the spring, it was back to work, and before summer started, I had nothing to do. I had a lot of time on my hands while I was waiting for all the paperwork to be done. And I wasn't going to spend two weeks sitting on my porch
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    Font - Now, I didn't need a job because of money, but I just didn't have anything to do. So, I went to my good ol' friend Jack if he needed some help. He said that he could use me to guide people on the tours he was offering. (His ranch is not only in the cattle business; he also offers tours of the pristine nature on his property.) I happily accepted the job despite me not liking people, but still, it was better than just sitting on my front porch and doing nothing.
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    Font - The first few days went without a problem. But then a wild Karen appeared to brighten up the day. I was just returning from a tour when I saw this Karen in the middle of the field yelling at this girl, who was also a guide. I didn't know the girl, but in my books, whoever makes a girl cry is an hole. I came over to them and in the most passive-aggressive voice I can, I say, "Good day, what seems to be the problem?" and the Karen's wrath was now aimed at me, and she yelled back, "This bi h
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    Font - Now, I didn't expect such strong wording, but I kept my cool despite my hot-headedness, and I came up to the girl, who's now sobbing because this Karen was mouthing off to her pretty good, and I say to her, "Leave her to me, I'll take care of her. You go take a break and tell Jack that I'll be with this piece of work." She gives me a grateful smile and a nod and rides away.
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    Font - I go to the Karen and I say to her, "Ma'am, I can't get you the manager as he's busy right now, but if you want, I can be your guide in her stead for the remainder of the tour." She replies very "politely" by saying, "Sure, I think even the trees will be better than that b
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    Font - Every part of my hot-headed self wants me to pretty much bury this woman right then and there, but I keep my cool, and we head off on the tour. And within the first minute, what a piece of work she truly is. She behaves like she knows best and everyone is lesser than her and everything should be given to her.
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    Font - When we are about to turn around and go back, I give her a choice. We could either go the "official" route, or we could return by the "unofficial" route, which is shorter, but there were bear sightings reported in the past few days. I tell her that the "unofficial" route is quite dangerous, but just as I wanted her to do so, she vehemently objects because "she is the wisest person alive and knows the best." Great, my trap had worked.
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    Font - After about 5 miles on this "unofficial" route, she starts screaming and turns so pale that she is even more white than paper. In the distance, there is a grizzly. I knew about the danger I dragged both of us into, but in the end, it was technically her choice to go that route. I tell her to make herself as big and loud as she can. I follow suit, but the bear keeps getting closer. It keeps growling at us. With every growl, Karen was getting ever more pale. After it gets way too dangerous,
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    Font - The entire ride back, she keeps yelling at me that I put her intentionally in so much danger. And yes, I'll admit, it was quite reckless taking a visitor into a part of the woods where there were bear sightings reported, but technically she made the decision to go that route. I stay silent the entire ride because I can't keep a straight face. I was laughing maniacally in my head, and I knew that if I looked at her, I would start laughing out loud.
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    Font - When we returned, she was shaking violently and was pale as ever. After I tied up her horse, she DEMANDED that I get her the manager, and I gladly point her to the little building in the distance, and she storms off. She starts yelling at Jack, and I can see that Jack is trying his hardest not to break out laughing. I could hear that she was demanding that I be fired, but the neat part was—I wasn't an employee of Jack's. I was doing it as a favor for a friend, and thus, I couldn't be fire
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    Font - After the Karen's tirade ends, Jack comes to me laughing like a kid, and he asks me, "How did you even come up with that, OP?" I start giggling as well and answer, "Well, she made the girl cry, so I wanted to give her special treatment. I heard of the bear sightings, and it worked out well in my favor." He then asks me not to do that again as it was reckless, and I agree and I tell Jack, "I don't plan on doing it again, but I had a plan if the bear mauled the wretch. My defense would be t
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    Smile - Years later, my father would end up meeting that girl guide again. Her name was Abby, but nowadays, I simply call her mom.
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    Font - CraftFather +1. 4 days ago "My husband told my mother in law to be more polite to me." "My husband always goes to the store for me." "Well, my husband once tried to feed a lady who was mean to me to a grizzly bear." Ahh... young love. :) 1.1k Reply Share
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    Font - zeemdyx OP. 4 days ago It is possible my father did this out of love, however he is quite the character so this doesn't sound that abnormal. I think he would have done this regardless the surroundings. It is possible that love did play a role in his actions. 360 Reply Share
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    Font - Schlonzig 4 days ago TL;DR: Karen gets a little scare, hero gets the girl. 390 Reply Share zeemdyx OP 4 days ago . That's a good summary, I suppose 141 Reply Share
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    Font - joezeller 4 days ago I love the ending. I didn't realize it was a love story. 89 Reply Share zeemdyx OP 4 days ago One of the coolest love stories that's for sure. 50 Reply Share

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