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NOVEMBER 2023 Hello family, friends, and fans, Welcome to the official Okefenokee Joe Enterprise newsletter November edition. Hi, I’m Dave Flood, Okefenokee Joe Enterprise, and I’m thrilled to share some exciting news with you. As we approach January 2024, I can’t wait to tell you about the fantastic offers we have in store for our subscribers. The year ahead is packed with exclusive, unreleased Okefenokee Joe material such as new and live music, spoken-word stories, podcasts, and more, all exclusively available to our subscribers. To make this all possible, I’m reaching out to ask if you’d consider becoming a paid subscriber. If you’re interested, please don’t hesitate to email me at info@okefenokeejoe.com, and I’ll be more than happy to provide you with all the details. Your support means the world to us! ~ Okefenokee Joe Enterprise Don't forget to get your FREE SONG! DOWNLOAD AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS NEWSLETTER, THE SONG ‘Ole' Black Bear' by OKEFENOKEE JOE! ~ EARTH DAY EVERY DAY! OLE' BLACK BEAR Ole' Black Bear livin' in the woods, takin' life easy like a Black Bear should Wouldn't change nothin' even if he could. Ole' Black Bear livin' in the woods
Now if you're goin' lookin' for Ole' Black Bear there's some things you need to know Ole' Black Bear ain't too friendly you'd better take it slow He's fast enough to catch a deer, and you could be his next meal Or he might pay you no mind at all, that depends on how he feels
The best sense Ole' Black Bear has got is a pair of high tech ears Ain't nothin' goes on out here in this swamp that Ole' Black Bear don't hear But his eyesight's poor, and you just might go unseen He don't see too good or smell too good, you get close you'll know what I mean
Now a bear can grunt, and snort and whine, but he can't roar or growl I'm sure he'd like to make those sounds, but a bear just don't know how And my does he love honey, and it's a comical sight to see When he tears into a honey bee hive he'll even eat the bees, And he'll risk his life out on a tree limb tryin' to reach it's tender fruit Or he might just lie up on his back munchin' on a sassafras root
Now Ole' Black Bear kinda' stays to himself, and nobody bothers him All the critters know better than to hang around, he's a whole lots bigger than them And he might look downright silly up on his hind legs walkin' around Don't let those antics fool you, Ole' Black Bear ain't no clown And he ain't no dummy, and he ain't no fool, and he don't like me and you Only way you'll ever get close to him is if he wants you to ~ Okefenokee Joe 
The following is a transcript from Okefenokee Joe's series of recordings “Swampwise Secrets, Songs, And Stories From The Land of the Trembling Earth”. This is an excerpt from Volume ONE:
OLE' BLACK BEAR When a bear stands up on its hind legs and begins to walk around, it looks as if it is a stupid, clumzy clown. Don 't let that fool you. That bear is no clown. It is as smart as a whip, it can turn as quick as lightning, and it's fast enough to catch a deer! If it wants to that is. And most of the time it doesn't want to. That's because bears take life easy. They don't have to chase after anything to get something to eat. A bear is an omnivore! Which means it eats anything that is edible. If a bear gets hungry, all it really has to do is roll over on it's back, pull up a root, and munch out. It doesn't need to work hard to make a living. Once I had four American black bears under my care in the Okefenokee swamp. I was with those bears twenty four hours a day when I wanted to, and back then I wanted to twenty four hours a day. I was learning from those bears. One thing that surprised me right away is that a bear can't roar like an African lion, like we hear them do in the movies. People who make movies are making a fortune because we are so dumb! A bear can't even growl like a wolf. The nearest sound that a bear can make to a roar is a sound like this, “Yeng, yeng, yeng, yeng”! And sometimes like this, “Aww, aww, aww, aww”! And when it gets really upset it gives out with a “Humph, humph, humph, humph”! Those sounds do not suit the movie people, so while they are filming, if the bear opens its mouth they pipe a roaring sound in electronically. When God created the wild animal kingdom, he gave each animal its own voice, and certain jobs to do that would contribute to the balance of nature, and the earth. The American Black Bear is no exception. It has been given certain responsibilities, and it never shirks those responsibilities. No wild animal ever does that. As long as a bear lives everything it does, every day and every night, is helping to maintain the balance of Planet Earth. The earth that you and me are living upon. Every time it tears up a palmetto bush to get its delicious bud, it crops the plant, making it grow better the next year. Every time it runs down a deer, which it most certainly can do, it catches the weak, sick or slow one. It helps to keep the herd strong. Every time it defecates it fertilizes the earth. And when a bear dies it will naturally recycle back into the earth, and become food in other ways for other living things. All around us that constant cycle of life is being carried out. Nothing is ever wasted. Every living thing in the natural world, plant or animal is totally willing and devoted to performing its duty to God and to the earth. For centuries the teamwork of the natural world is what has made the earth so beautiful, and suitable habitat for humans. Its the reason we can breathe the air, grow food in the soil, and drink the water. And every living thing in the natural world, plant or animal is a member of that team! The American Black Bear may look like a clown when it stands up and walks around on its hind legs, but it is a proud member of nature's team, and as such it deserves our heartfelt thanks, and appreciation. All of nature deserves that from all of us.
Purchase "Swampwise Secret, Songs, And Stories from the Land of the Trembling Earth" and other really awesome stuff at the SWAMP STORE.
Okefenokee Joe 1932 - 2023
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