The Historic Grizzly

[brotherbear]

Grizzlies and Grizzled Old Men continued...
Theodore Roosevelt may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but there was no silver lining in his lungs. The first son of affluent New Yorkers, Teedie, as he was called as a child, suffered from acute asthma. During those precarious days of Teedies early life, if anyone had predicted the boy would one day become an impressive physical specimen, a fearless adventurer and outdoorsman, the father of modern conservation, and one of the most popular presidents of the United States, Mr. Roosevelt would have laughed them to scorn. A more realistic goal at that time would have been to see his son live through the night. 
But live he did, though for several years Teedie was confined to life indoors, where he usually gravitated to his father's library, which contained all the classic books of the literary world, plus an ample assortment of adventure novels and books by famous explorers. Roosevelt during this time most likely read The Journals of Lewis & Clark and John Hittell's biography of Grizzly Adams. 
As he grew older, Teedie's severe asthma miraculously abated, and he began to venture outdoors more and more until, by the age of ten, he was spending every daylight hour exploring the nearby forests and streams. Much to his mother's dismay, Teedie often brought bugs, spiders, mice, rats, snakes, and other objectionable "specimens" into the Roosevelt house.   Reply