Humans,
There is a lesser-known story told by the great Aesop that goes a little like this –
A talkative tortoise, unhappy with his slow life, convinces two empathetic (but cautionary) ducks to fly him into a new adventure – by holding a stick between them, these ducks offer to carry the tortoise as he grabs onto it with his mouth. Despite warnings to remain quiet as they fly, the vain tortoise opens his mouth to boast, falls to his death, and demonstrates the danger of foolish vanity.
This is the way the story has been told, but lore throughout Beardom has shared a turn of story that ne’er was told throughout the annals of time. When I heard this from my great- great- Grandbear, sitting at his feet deep in the forest, surrounded by all my cousins, he had a little more to tell.
During this time, there was an old bear who lived among the rocks and rivers, hunting salmon and enjoying the sun. This bear was a creative bear, a curious bear, a bear who wore shoes. And he longed for adventure.
One morning, as he was out shining his favorite pair of Italian boots, he squinted up into the sky and saw an odd shape moving toward him in the morning fog. Suddenly, an object was falling, and he heard a faint squeal of delight as a tiny parachute poofed into the air. Moving closer, he observed what could only be… a large tortoise who had just completed his first skydive.
Intrigued, the old bear put on his favorite hiking boots and set out for the dropzone – and was surprised to find two ducks accompanying the happily yapping turtle, who was himself flush with adrenaline. The vibe was good, and the four of them got to talking.
It was not but ten minutes later that the ducks invited the bear himself on a little flight of his own. He was shocked. “But I’m much bigger and heavier than the tortoise!” he protested. “And my boots add at least three more pounds on top of that!” But the ducks insisted they were seasoned pilots and had once carried a cow rhinoceros to the upper terminal of a mountain lift to quench her curiosity about downhill skiing.
The bear considered this – he had, in fact, always wanted to visit Level Shoes in The Dubai Mall… could they make it that far? The ducks were not only confident that they could, but they were also - conveniently - already headed that way. And so, the bear was transported on the biggest adventure of his life, flying high between the two brave and generous ducks.
You see, the story was never about the danger of foolish curiosity and vanity; it was about two down-to-earth ducks who wanted to take others along with them on their big adventures.
Fast forward to today. In the spirit of these winged heroes, we are collaborating with a sister underground pop-up here in San Diego called Two Ducks to create an experience on March 20th that we are calling Duck, Duck, Bear. Think: classic French technique meets Southern California and Mexican flavors. If you're someone who loves to eat and to experience, we want to take you with us on this adventure!
You can find all the details here, along with a menu for the evening.
Fly On,
Two Ducks and Chef Bear