How Grizzly Adams Didn't Befriend Animals

Barrett schemes a plan to befriend the animals.

When I was a small child, I was obsessed with the TV show "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams." I loved the way Adams "had a special kind of way" with the animals, and how they would "walk right up to him as if he were a natural part of the wilderness."

As much as I wanted the same ability for myself, I knew that I didn't have this particular talent, and I realized that few (if any) people did. Still, I also realized that there must have been some Hollywood trick to getting the animals in the TV show to be so trusting and friendly. The secret, I surmised, was costumes.

I figured that when the camera showed a raccoon or a skunk walking up to Adams, that there must in fact be a sort of "stunt Adams" standing behind him off camera. The "stunt Adams" would obviously be dressed up as a skunk or a raccoon, and that is what the animal was responding to, not the actor Dan Haggerty.

If only I could get my hands on a set of animal costumes like that, I could also befriend all of the wild animals – squirrels, birds, and such – in my own neighborhood. The idea seemed so flawless that I finally broke down and asked my mom to make me a raccoon costume. When she asked why I wanted one, I laid out my plan for her. She just laughed, shook her head, and walked away.

I felt not only insulted, but disappointed. My plans were thwarted, and I never realized my dream of becoming the next Grizzly Adams.

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