Serbia draws just the facts - 'The Bear Facts'

By Rose Hooper

In Serbia's dream a bear approached him at night. At first the burly bruin intimidated him, causing Serbia to fear his dreams. Then one night, the bear turned around and smiled at him. That dream, that smile, changed Serbia's life forever.

It helped erase his fears, giving him the courage to quit his job as a deputy sheriff in Florida, move out of his comfortable home and all the trappings of suburban life and head for the mountains of Western North Carolina.

The book is a compilation of his cartoon drawings featuring what he describes as "lovable and charming" bears he started drawing when he was in jail - as a deputy! - Serbia is quick to add.

"I would draw the bears and give them to my children to color. Each cartoon is based on something in our life or some story I've heard," said Serbia, whose bears turn the mundane into humor.

One such cartoon is based on a personal encounter Serbia had with three bears about 150 feet from a tent site in Whittier.

"I was repairing an outhouse and looked around and there were three bears just taking it all in," he said. That cartoon, featuring bears with newspapers under their arms, he calls "Do bears do what in the woods?"

"This book is about not taking ourselves too seriously," he said, "Sometimes we can become too intense with ordinary concerns. Reading the book is a walk away from the stresses of the world."

Serbia talked of the violence in the world now and how some people can only express themselves in violent ways.

"I feel fortunate that I can express myself in a positive way," said this author, who is also a sculptor.

"Living out in the woods in my little cabin on Nations Creek is like having my own arts and crafts store," said Serbia, who spent 11 years as an architect. "I have a powerful, creative spirit, and this area is rich in creativity."

For Serbia, "ordinary existence isn't enough; you have to make magic in your life."

At one point in his life he thought his dream no longer mattered. But that one bear's smile and the publishing of his book ,"The Bear Facts," proved to him that you can never give up on your dreams.

In addition to his appearance this week at City Lights, Serbia will have a book signing at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Medicine Man in Cherokee.

He can be reached at jserbia@yahoo.com.

Back to Archive: 09/19/02.