Bear Lake New York is a lonely place unknown to many. Swamp and wetlands line its southern shore. A few summer cottages, along the lake border road, face the ruins of a Scout camp. It is a relic of a time when people and children were there doing Indian things. Now coyotes howl at night deep in the swamp standing over a new deer kill. An occasional panther prowls the water edge looking for a beaver meal, and eagles nest high among ghost-like dead and dying trees. Patches of gray clouds, slowly drift over the water, hiding the sun on this steamy summer day. It is a quiet place. No boats are churning the deep green water to froth. Children are splashing in the warm water along the shore. Their dangling legs are a lure, a meal for something strange. Something has risen from the deep in hunger, something huge looking for air to breathe, something with razor teeth. Just under the water mirror, a monster starts its patrol. Long sharp fins break the surface just before...The story of a monster lurking in Bear Lake is one from the author's personal collection of stories he has titled Bear Lake Monster and Other Clever Stories. Much like elevator music, these are stories the writer can only expect the reader to read or hear told while they are in a captive state. Pretend you are between floors in an elevator with no hope of being rescued soon. After the anxiety of claustrophobia and falling to your doom resides, you need to find a way to pass the time before the fire department crew provides a release from your movable jail. If this book is with you, it may be time to read these short stories. Perhaps the elevator pretense is beyond your imagination. The following rationale for these short stories may be more comfortable to the reader. Winter Count is a Native American tradition where events of the year were recalled in story form around the community fires at a time when winter's cold grip makes survival primary. There were no televisions, I-Pods, or computer games, and