Memoir Piece - Monkey In The Morning


A regular occurrence for me is recalling New York moments. It is now close to three years since I moved back home to Australia permanently, but those moments from our New York life come flooding back all the time. Given the cultural and intellectual diversity of this urban giant, it was almost certain that each day you would encounter a moment that left you dumfounded, or at the very least shaking your befuddled head in utter disbelief. It is one of the many things that makes New York so intriguing. You have to laugh, or at the very least have a quiet chuckle to yourself…

-And so it was one unsuspecting Saturday morning. I awoke after a pleasant Friday evening spent entertaining friends. I felt ready to dive head long into the weekend. Meaning, I did not feel seedy or disoriented. Vicki was standing at the north facing window of our then apartment looking down at the rooftop opposite.. She had a puzzled look on her face. ‘That’s either a small child or a monkey in a suit down there’ she announced. I immediately looked out the window and after focusing for a moment, I said rather officially. “Ah, that’s definitely a monkey. On the other hand, it could be a really ugly child!”

Sure enough, on the rooftop below, a small chimpanzee sat on a box, wearing a suit. The monkey was surrounded by about sixteen assorted humans. It became immediately apparent that filming was in progress for a commercial of some kind or other. The monkey sat impassively on the box until his female handler made a gesture with her hands, at which point the monkey would immediately stand to attention and puff its chest out. This action was repeated at least a dozen times, before the monkey became somewhat bored with the whole exercise and began picking its nose. This action made me think that small boys and monkeys share a lot in common. The handler then approached the monkey, and placed a re-assuring arm around her star attraction, offering an affirming pat on the shoulder.

Now I’ve been looking out windows all my life, and I have to say that was the first time I had seen a monkey in the morning –anywhere!

We then looked out the window that offers a panoramic view of the Hudson River and across to New Jersey and were able to make out the figures of swimmers splashing their way towards 23rd Street past the cruise ships. They had entered the water at 79th. Street as part of the Annual Hudson River Swim. Tiny specks thrashing down the western side of Manhattan island, dwarfed by the mighty cruise ships at anchor. I kept thinking that it was fortunate that they were swimming along the Hudson River, as it is marginally less polluted than the East River. I had to admire their stamina, their craziness.

By that time I was more than ready to settle into some breakfast. The day had started with a flurry of excitement and we had not even left the confines of our apartment. What other city could offer such amazing, home entertainment? I was almost apprehensive about stepping out into the street. I mean how many New York moments could a body absorb in one day?
Back home in Mornington, life is somewhat more predictable on the streets around here, --but I am still on the lookout for monkeys in the morning!

Comments

  1. Stacey2 June 2009 at 08:07

    7.5 years in Manhattan and no monkey sightings for me. What a great story!

    ReplyDelete
  2. bonnie K2 June 2009 at 13:06

    Funny, I just wrote something about my morning in the Village on Saturday. I don't think I could ever move from a spot so close to come and go from NYC. But I applaud you Alan,
    Bonnie

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular With Other Visitors

Writing Opposite Poems

Image
 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not eve...
Read more

Writing About Reading - Reading Reflection Journals:

Image
UPDATED February 2022 Writing in response to literature can be a great way for students to organize their thoughts, explore what they think, and generate ideas. One of the strengths of writing in journals is that it allows students to capture all of those great ideas that generally float off into the air during the discussion.  Journal writing can also become drudgery if students are asked to write too often, given little choice or inspiration in what to write, or if they simply don't have anything to say. While some students eagerly share their impressions about selections they have read in class discussions, others are less comfortable and keep their thoughts to themselves. In an effort to encourage all students to think more about what they read and confidently share their observations and opinions, some teachers are turning to the reading reflection journal and are gaining insights they never anticipated.  The Value of Reflection Journals   Journals assist teachers...
Read more

Learning How to 'Zoom In' When Writing

Image
It is important for young writers to understand that not all parts of a story are equal. There are parts through which a writer moves quickly, and important parts where the writer slows down and lingers a while. This is where the writer might intensify the action or reveal the character’s reactions in greater detail. Young writers need to know that this is a deliberate strategy on the part of the author. The author consciously zooms in. The writer uses a magnifying glass to view a part of the story more closely; to focus on a moment and to slow down time. When an important part of the story is enlarged upon, it   is a signal to the reader, that this part of the story is important. The strategy of ‘zooming in’ goes by many names: ‘exploding a moment’ ‘magnifying a moment’, ‘hotspot’ ‘snapshot’, ‘adding detail’ or ‘slowing the action.’  What ever the name, the idea is the same. The author writes in a way that expands a significant part of the story with the intentio...
Read more

Slice Of Life Story-The Trials Of A Left Handed Writer

Image
Amazingly I learnt to write using my left hand. An achievement against the prevailing beliefs of the day. My very first teacher saw it as her mission in life to ‘fix’ the poor, wretched little boy suffering from what she clearly diagnosed as left handed disease. She must have thought, 'This child must be re formatted! If he remains left handed he will be forever condemned to writing in a scrawl that no one will be able to read. Ugly hand, ugly hand.' ...They tried to say it couldn't be done, it mustn't be done. They took the pencil out of my left hand and placed it in my right hand. It felt unnatural. It felt weird. It was not right. More to the point it was not left. I was not about to conform. At least they didn't try tying my hand behind my back. Watch me I said. I may be an oddball, left handed scribbler but I am a determined oddball. I mean how boring would the world be if everyone wrote with their right hand? So I dug my toes in –and my hands to...
Read more

Exploring Themes in Poetry With Emerging Writers

Image
There is so much more to poetry than haiku and acrostics. Yet, so many young poets never get to experience the rich breadth of poetry beyond these highly structured forms. Why? Primarily, it’s about their teachers comfort levels with poetry. We often teach to what we know, meaning that being adventurous and taking young poets into new realms is not part of the poetic landscape for many. This sells young poets and poetry itself short. Last week I had the pleasure to again work with a group of young poets from Derrimut Primary School grade 5/6 in Melbourne’s west. We have been exploring patterns and repetition in poetry. We have explored personification as a literary device to develop the writing of poetry. We delved into the idea of writing through a mask to provide inanimate and animate entities with a voice. They told stories in words from their own perspective. On this occasion we again went to the edges and began to explore poetry through themes. We discussed a range ...
Read more