Bear-Caught

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Michael Pippen from Omaha, Nebraska.

Hi, Michael. What’s going on?

Well, I was interested in hearing a little bit more about a word I stumbled upon when I lived in Tallahassee, Florida. The term was bear caught, and the only time I ever heard it was there in Tallahassee.

And it was from two people that resided or lived or were raised in north central Florida, basically the area west of Tallahassee, I’m sorry, east of Tallahassee, west of Jacksonville, Florida, and kind of the panhandle.

And as best I can understand, it means sunstroke. But outside of that, I haven’t heard a whole much more about it. It always caught my interest.

Bear caught? B-E-A-R-C-A-U-G-H-T?

Yes, sir.

Like you were caught by a bear?

Like you were caught by a bear, which is what got me.

Okay, good. What year would that have been?

Oh, this is 15, 20 years ago. Something really interesting about this term that, you know, as soon as I heard it, I was like, I don’t think I’ve ever heard this before.

Yeah, I haven’t. But upon a little digging, I discovered what I think is the point of popularization for the term bear caught to mean sunstroke.

And so by point of popularization, I mean something different than the point at which it was coined. So a lot of times a word is out there in the ether and it doesn’t really catch on until somebody well-known uses it.

And in this case, it’s the book and the movie Cool Hand Luke.

Really?

Yeah, there’s this book published in 1965 by Don Pierce. That’s Don with two N’s called Cool Hand Luke, who became a very well-known movie.

And in the book and the movie, they use bear caught to mean heat exhaustion or sunstroke or kind of just passing out from not having enough water or the heat being too much, that sort of thing.

And there’s a passage in the book that I want to share with you that I think really describes the term as Don Pierce meant it.

Way out there in the middle of nowhere, many a good man has been bear caught, which is to be stricken with heat exhaustion and sunstroke.

Your muscles cramp. Your mouth is dry. Your face is cold and yet sweating.

Your stomach knotted and nauseous. You’re dizzy and your vision is blurred.

You’re weak. You stagger. Even your voice is affected and becomes a mere croak.

So that’s a beautiful passage, right?

Yeah, that’s really kind of cool.

I’ve seen the movie, never read the book. You know, I had heat exhaustion once and almost got carted away by the EMTs.

And what I remember is that it came on me so suddenly. I mean, it was almost like something came up from behind me and just pulled me down.

Pulled you down.

Yeah.

So I’m wondering if that’s part of the idea there.

Possible.

Michael, do you remember the movie well?

No, it’s been a long time. I remember it had, I think it was Paul Newman in it.

Yeah, Paul Newman. That’s right, yeah. Wonderful movie, Bears.

And a few other things, but I don’t remember the phrase being used.

The scene is, they’re talking about heat exhaustion. One of the characters says, Bear’s going to be walking the road today.

And another person replies and says, You ever seen a man bear caught?

And then two of the other characters look kind of concerned or frightened.

And this guy says, all the salt goes out of his body, and the water follows the salt, and the brain shrivels up like a dried pea, convulsions, shivering, very unpleasant to watch.

And then somebody else says, man’s never the same, makes him lose his sex drive.

So that’s, the movie took it one step. As beautiful as the passages in the book, the movie took it like up another notch, I think.

Interesting.

Wow.

So there you go.

Wow.

That’s what I know about beer, Con.

Yeah.

That is really cool.

Well, thank you very much. I appreciate that.

Thank you.

Thanks for calling. Appreciate the call.

Take care.

Take care.

Bye-bye.

Bye, Michael.