OK guys and gals, here it is.
Down in Houma, La. Heart of Cajun country fitting out a boat in a small yard on a bayou. The crew I was hanging with was a few specialists from San Diego and a bunch of yard workers. Entertainment was hard to come by but there was one big bar where the keep would bring in anything that would draw a crowd. The bear (yes, declawed) was in a cage on a trailer and sat in the parking lot for a couple of days with a sign that said "Bear Wrestling, Saturday Night"!. The place was packed and rolling after the midget wrestlers did their act for a while in a small ring set up on the dance floor. Out came the muzzled bear on a leash and it's trainer. The deal was, pay $50 to get in the ring, last a minute on your feet or take down the bear and $500 was yours. We watched a bunch of drunks get mauled and one of our gang, a carpenter who was a pretty big guy, said he'd wrestled in college and thought he could make a move and take down the bear. We all roared and said we'd put up the cash to see it. He strips down to boxers, gets in a wrestlers crouch and the crowd was on its feet yelling some good! The bear got up on its hind legs, walked up and put its paws on his shoulders and when he tried a leg sweep takedown, darned near crushed him with a better move! When he came back to the table, he said the bear's breath was so bad that would knock you down! Good fun down on de bayou! BTW, the crowd matched the above comic's description to a tee. Most everyone packed some kind of weapon, including the women.
Rick