From: bretwiersbe@mindspring.com   
      
   As I reflect on past Halloweens, I will never forget the terror of the   
   Bear-Witch.  Some remember all too well; others choose to forget.   
   Although the curse has long since been broken, I still have nightmares   
   of the search for the Bear Witch.  I took a walk the other day along   
   familiar paths; paths that lead to old haunts; old haunts that used to   
   be rich with Beanies.  Interesting how things have changed in the past 4   
   or 5 years.  One particular store was now selling frozen custard instead   
   of over-priced Erin Bears.  One store was completely gone, replaced by a   
   luggage store; how practical!  I can buy a suitcase to store all my   
   extra Peace Bears!  Stores that used to be lined with people waiting to   
   buy Gobbles the Turkey or Stretch the Ostrich, now just empty voids.   
   Some stores were still in business, but seemed to have a new curse ....   
   the curse of over-stocked Ty products!  I stopped in one store to see   
   what was new.  It had been awhile since I bought anything with a Ty   
   trademark.  I didn't recognize a single item!  I couldn't even tell you   
   the names.  Some of the bears were okay.  An orange ghost, a vampire   
   bear ... no Bear Witch in site, thankfully!  I couldn't help but think   
   of my old friend Beak the Kiwi Bird.  I don't know what ever became of   
   him.  After his world-wide tour, he found love and happiness and I   
   haven't heard from him since.  I'm sure he's busy pooping up someone   
   else's home by now ... but I digress.  As I began my long journey home,   
   I passed one other famous haunt ... but this one was not replaced by a   
   clothing store or ice cream parlor.  This one was completely gone!  I   
   walked up to the boarded storefront.  A stench filled the air.  It was   
   the smell of fire.  The store had burned recently and the windows had   
   been covered by plywood.  A notice had been posted on the door: "No   
   Trespassing by order of the Chicago Fire Department".  Laws are meant to   
   be broken, so I pried a few boards loose and stepped inside.  The smell   
   was overpowering!  I felt light-headed.  I walked to the back room which   
   must have been used for storage at one time ..... the smell got worse.   
   All of a sudden, a women stepped out of the darkness!  She was the most   
   beautiful woman I had ever seen!  I was hypnotized by her beauty.  She   
   gazed in my eyes, and I felt numb.  She approached me, but as she did, I   
   could tell she wasn't ..... human.  A mirror hung on the back wall and I   
   could see my own reflection, but not hers!  She walked closer, but I   
   could tell her feet were not even touching the ground!  I tried to   
   scream, but I was frozen in fear.  Suddenly, her face grew ashen white   
   and seemed to fall away in dust ... revealing only a skull!  With a   
   horrible shriek, she howled "Go away and don't ever return!".  That's   
   all I remember, and then I fainted.  When I regained consciousness, I   
   was outside again surrounded by a few firemen and paramedics.  I heard   
   one of them say I had been exposed to toxic PVC fumes and was lucky to   
   be alive.  I guess I'm lucky they didn't have me arrested for   
   trespassing.  "That building is condemned", one fireman said.  I   
   replied, "Well you better tell the woman that's in there to get out   
   too."  They just stared at me for a minute and said, "That building has   
   been vacant for over a month.  The woman who owned the store died in the   
   fire.  We're taking you to the hospital just as a precaution."  Maybe it   
   was a hallucination.  Maybe the fumes caused my mind to play tricks.   
   But as they helped me into the ambulance, I looked back at the   
   building.  To my horror, I saw an all too familiar encryption on the   
   boarded up windows:   
      
      ^   ^   
     (  .  . )   
   ---------   
         ||   
       /   \   
      /      \   
      
   Beware the Bear-Witch!   
      
      
   Happy Halloween!   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)