The End of the Beginning, Or, a Long-Unfinished Project Gets Finished
Orange Bear saw him first.
Of course, he could scarcely believe his eyes. Or his nose, for that matter.
Yes, he did look a little different — paler, thinner, bearded. And he did smell a little different, too, which wasn’t surprising considering the length of time he spent underground.
But there he was, in the same tall hat, in (a new pair of) the same old pants, wearing the same goofy grin:
Mr. Crumpet.
Orange Bear opened his mouth but couldn’t form any words.
“Yes, Orange Bear,” answered Mr. Crumpet to the non-verbal question. “It’s finished.”
Orange Bear now couldn’t believe his ears. “F-Finished? The It? That It? Finished?”
“Mm-hmm. Finished. Now I’m famished. I think it’s time for pancakes.”
Mr. Crumpet headed for his house on the hill. And that was that.
Russia has the largest population of bears in the world.
Mr. Crumpet & Orange Bear 
I don’t believe it, I think there should be photos to prove it.
It’s not true. That’s impossible!
The veracity of this story may never be fully substantiated. The completion of the Long-Unfinished Project — even the existence of the L.U.P. itself — may end up in those dubious annals of Fuzzy History that include the Piltdown Man, the Roswell aliens, and various sightings of the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, the Yeti, the Ogopogo and [insert mythic creature here].
But we here at Mr. Crumpet & Orange Bear stand by our story. And Mr. Crumpet might have further recollections in the future if he feels up to it.
And we here of the genus felinus exhale a raspy, post-apocalyptic, anti-climatic Me-aw-men.
And “congratulations” and “good job” on completing these herculean efforts.
Thanks, Feliney Ally!