Where in the World is Barney?
After an alumnus bumped into Barney in Taiwan in the spring, we received word that Daniel Noyes ’96, MAT’97, a high school English teacher in Ankara, Turkey, had his own encounter with our furry collegial friend. He shares his story and photo below:
“During the school year, weekend outings are a rare thing for teachers, but a few weeks ago my wife and I pushed the schoolwork aside for a couple of days and stuffed our two kids into the car to head down to Cappadocia to visit some friends and see the sights. The Göreme Open Air Museum is a must-see for anyone in the area, and we grabbed the chance to expose the kids to a little bit of their cultural heritage.
I was leading my oldest son, teaching him about the monks who created these underground churches hundreds of years ago, trying to ignore that he seemed more delighted with the echoes he could make than with my impromptu history lesson. We had just entered a chamber where the monks once prepared their food when out of a darkened corner we heard a low chuckle that made our hair stand on end. The chamber wasn’t empty, as we thought. When my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I caught a glimpse of an unforgettable combination of cardinal and gold. Shocked and amazed, I put my son down as none other than Barney the Bearcat came waddling over, a Rick Steves guidebook in hand.
Barney knew just who I was, and after introducing my son, we reminisced about the old days, like when the men’s basketball team won the 1993 National Championship. I seized the chance to chastise him for not coming out to support the cross country team more often. Before we parted ways, we posed outside the monastery for a photo op.”
Where in the world is Barney now? Look for future issues of The Scene and WU News to bring you the latest on the whereabouts of the original Bearcat.