We're Just Trying To Be Friendly ...
As a child, pretty much all of my memories (especially the happiest ones) happened on or around my grandparents farm. These were my father's parents and the farm was way, way, out in the middle of nowhere. In fact, my mom went into labor there because my parents were there helping my Grandparents(Nana & Papa) move in. My earliest and happiest childhood memories revolved around the farm.
I also remember taking my first steps towards Papa. I know it disappointed my parents but in my childhood, my world revolved entirely around my Papa. I was his little shadow. I helped him plant the garden, feed the animals & anything else he did around the farm. He was the light of my world. In fact, I wanted to spend every moment with him so much that I dug my way under the gates out to the pasture & garden so that extra boards had to be nailed to the bottom of the gates to keep me out of danger. Because of this, I was often relegated to spend time with Nana in the kitchen. Her day pretty much entirely revolved around cooking and I learned most of my cooking skills from her (my mom was a terrible cook but that's a story for another time).
For those of you who have not spent time in a "backwoods" sort of upbringing, there was always a strange assortment of family friends and people who were presented as kinfolk, whether they actually were or not. Most of them lived nearby but others were from before my Grandparents moved to the farm. Of these, there were a few whom I had vivid memories of and quite a few stories highlighting just how whacky my childhood was.
One of these stories revolves around my Aunt Selina & Uncle Hubert. I'm not sure of my exact relationship to them but they were likely either family friends or siblings of my Grandparents. Neither of them was a sibling of either of my parents. They had a lovely house that was very upscale for being so far out in the middle of nowhere (it was even more remote than my Grandparent's farm). On the way out to their place, there were several dips in the road that made your stomach feel as though you were on a roller coaster. This was the house that I remember only visiting with Papa. It was also remember having creamed corn for the first time and discovered how much I liked it.
However, my most vivid memories of this place was their pet monkey, Spooky. While this sort of exotic pet is unusual even today, this was in the late 60's - early 70's. Still, it never occurred to me exactly how unique this pet was and how rare my interactions with him were. Since I always had long hair, every time I visited, it would always be plaited into two braids. When I would enter the house, Spooky would react excitedly and jump on the back of my head/neck grab the braids & make me run around steering me like a horse. You have no idea how wonderful this feeling was and how much I loved Spooky.
However, when many animals (especially monkeys) get old, their personality changes drastically and they tend to become mean. I was around six the last time I visited, when Selina opened the cage to let Spooky out for his ride, he immediately sprang out and started attacking me. Naturally, this traumatic experience was quite scarring, giving me quite a strong fear of monkeys and their ilk. However, upon reflection, it was the unexpected betrayal by a loved one that hurt the worst.
While my fear of monkeys still exists, it is not as strong as it has been in the past. I mostly just avoid interaction with them and will observe them at the zoo but never make any effort to see or spend time with them. So of course, when an area Zoo announced that they were spending $26 Million to build an exhibit for Orangutans, I not only felt that it was a waste of money, I had no intention of ever going there.
Then in March, I ended up with an opportunity to get a special, free "behind-the-scenes" look at the exhibit. Since this was likely the only time I would ever have a reason to go, I took a chance & went out to take some publicity pics of the event. The center was still not finished and I honestly was not impressed by the exhibit on the whole and just wanted to get the pics so I could leave as soon as possible. When they were finally released into the glassed-in viewing area (the outdoor area was still not completed), they proceeded to climb around and in fact came right up against the glass & began performing for us and looking at us as if we were on exhibit. I quickly snapped a few pictures of them but after a few seconds, I looked up into the face of Rocky, the most gregarious of the group.
He was standing there. Looking at each one of us in turn. A slab of glass and a breath were all that separated us. He then began to show off for us & then did the same for the other media groups that were all crowded around the glass so that none of us would miss out on a shot of him. Soon, many of the others climbed up & showed off as well. Even though I had an old, wonky camera, I managed to get some really amazing pictures of the whole event. Some of them have already made it to print and others are on file for later publicity usage. The whole experience was almost overwhelming. However, no matter how good my pictures were, they would never be able to reflect what happened to me that day.
In the moment when my eyes locked with Rocky's, I was transported to those early days with Spooky. I remembered the love & joy that we shared. While it could not totally erase the trauma, I could feel a piece of my heart begin to mend. I wish I could have spent more time there and eagerly look forward to visiting the center again & again now that the construction has been completed and it is fully functional.
Perhaps one day, I will overcome my other big fears. For now, I will embrace Rocky and his kin and allow the healing to continue.
I hope you've enjoyed this long jaunt through my childhood. It is brought to you by therealljidol and this week's topic, Barrel of monkeys. I look forward to your questions/comments and hope you will vote for me in the next poll. Thanks for your time & continued support.
TTFN!
I also remember taking my first steps towards Papa. I know it disappointed my parents but in my childhood, my world revolved entirely around my Papa. I was his little shadow. I helped him plant the garden, feed the animals & anything else he did around the farm. He was the light of my world. In fact, I wanted to spend every moment with him so much that I dug my way under the gates out to the pasture & garden so that extra boards had to be nailed to the bottom of the gates to keep me out of danger. Because of this, I was often relegated to spend time with Nana in the kitchen. Her day pretty much entirely revolved around cooking and I learned most of my cooking skills from her (my mom was a terrible cook but that's a story for another time).
For those of you who have not spent time in a "backwoods" sort of upbringing, there was always a strange assortment of family friends and people who were presented as kinfolk, whether they actually were or not. Most of them lived nearby but others were from before my Grandparents moved to the farm. Of these, there were a few whom I had vivid memories of and quite a few stories highlighting just how whacky my childhood was.
One of these stories revolves around my Aunt Selina & Uncle Hubert. I'm not sure of my exact relationship to them but they were likely either family friends or siblings of my Grandparents. Neither of them was a sibling of either of my parents. They had a lovely house that was very upscale for being so far out in the middle of nowhere (it was even more remote than my Grandparent's farm). On the way out to their place, there were several dips in the road that made your stomach feel as though you were on a roller coaster. This was the house that I remember only visiting with Papa. It was also remember having creamed corn for the first time and discovered how much I liked it.
However, my most vivid memories of this place was their pet monkey, Spooky. While this sort of exotic pet is unusual even today, this was in the late 60's - early 70's. Still, it never occurred to me exactly how unique this pet was and how rare my interactions with him were. Since I always had long hair, every time I visited, it would always be plaited into two braids. When I would enter the house, Spooky would react excitedly and jump on the back of my head/neck grab the braids & make me run around steering me like a horse. You have no idea how wonderful this feeling was and how much I loved Spooky.
However, when many animals (especially monkeys) get old, their personality changes drastically and they tend to become mean. I was around six the last time I visited, when Selina opened the cage to let Spooky out for his ride, he immediately sprang out and started attacking me. Naturally, this traumatic experience was quite scarring, giving me quite a strong fear of monkeys and their ilk. However, upon reflection, it was the unexpected betrayal by a loved one that hurt the worst.
While my fear of monkeys still exists, it is not as strong as it has been in the past. I mostly just avoid interaction with them and will observe them at the zoo but never make any effort to see or spend time with them. So of course, when an area Zoo announced that they were spending $26 Million to build an exhibit for Orangutans, I not only felt that it was a waste of money, I had no intention of ever going there.
Then in March, I ended up with an opportunity to get a special, free "behind-the-scenes" look at the exhibit. Since this was likely the only time I would ever have a reason to go, I took a chance & went out to take some publicity pics of the event. The center was still not finished and I honestly was not impressed by the exhibit on the whole and just wanted to get the pics so I could leave as soon as possible. When they were finally released into the glassed-in viewing area (the outdoor area was still not completed), they proceeded to climb around and in fact came right up against the glass & began performing for us and looking at us as if we were on exhibit. I quickly snapped a few pictures of them but after a few seconds, I looked up into the face of Rocky, the most gregarious of the group.
He was standing there. Looking at each one of us in turn. A slab of glass and a breath were all that separated us. He then began to show off for us & then did the same for the other media groups that were all crowded around the glass so that none of us would miss out on a shot of him. Soon, many of the others climbed up & showed off as well. Even though I had an old, wonky camera, I managed to get some really amazing pictures of the whole event. Some of them have already made it to print and others are on file for later publicity usage. The whole experience was almost overwhelming. However, no matter how good my pictures were, they would never be able to reflect what happened to me that day.
In the moment when my eyes locked with Rocky's, I was transported to those early days with Spooky. I remembered the love & joy that we shared. While it could not totally erase the trauma, I could feel a piece of my heart begin to mend. I wish I could have spent more time there and eagerly look forward to visiting the center again & again now that the construction has been completed and it is fully functional.
Perhaps one day, I will overcome my other big fears. For now, I will embrace Rocky and his kin and allow the healing to continue.
I hope you've enjoyed this long jaunt through my childhood. It is brought to you by therealljidol and this week's topic, Barrel of monkeys. I look forward to your questions/comments and hope you will vote for me in the next poll. Thanks for your time & continued support.
TTFN!