John McPhee's New Bear Piece - "Direct Eye Contact"

Yesterday, visiting newyorker.com, I was delighted to find a new piece by my all-time favorite New Yorker writer – John McPhee. Called “Direct Eye Contact,” it appears in the magazine’s March 5, 2018, issue with the tantalizing tagline, “The most sophisticated, most urban, most reproductively fruitful of bears.” Ah, a bear piece – one of McPhee’s great specialties (see my post “Bears, Bears, Bears”). I wanted to read it immediately. But I managed to resist, opting to wait for the print version. As soon as it arrives, I’ll devour it faster than a bear eats a honeycomb, and post my response here.  

Credit: The above artwork, by Tamara Shopsin, appears on newyorker.com as an illustration for John McPhee’s “Direct Eye Contact.”