I didn't know monkeys could fly. But there he was, flying through the air with the greatest of ease. Well actually he was swinging through the air with the greatest of ease.
His name is Butch and he is our high flying, free swinging pig tailed monkey, a distant relative of the rock ape family.
Butch was supercharged this morning. And the reason for that was entirely obvious. He was getting a brand new cage. But not just one of your ordinary, everyday run of the mill cages. Recently, I built Butch a cage so big that he experienced the illusion of freedom everytime he was inside of it. And I made sure he was in there as often as he wanted to be.
The neighborhood kids had shown up early to see the newest addition to Rolling Hill Shore. Even some adults had to have a look-see. They all tried to get as close to the cage as possible. The children were so excited. Some of them had never been to the zoo and this was their first time they had ever seen a monkey in real life.
Even the grown-ups were fascinated by the close up appearance of Butch. And, of course Butch always enjoys being the center of attention. He liked to show off his abilities in front of people. And the crowd absolutely loved it.
The children watched wide-eyed as Butch flew from one swing to another, going faster and faster until he seemed like a blur inside his cage. Then the children began running around the outside of the cage, trying their best to keep pace with Butch. But the turtle had a better chance of keeping up with the hare in the fairy tale than these kids did with butch.
Boisterous laughter and shouts of glee echoed throughout the five and one-half acres of property we now own in Grandbury. The misgivings I experienced I had experienced about buying the place slowly diminished. Maybe it would work out after all.
For an hour, Butch and the children played with each other -- him on the inside of the cage and them on the outside. At length, everyone was tired out.
After a short rest, the children went home for lunch. Speaking of lunch, I had a hungry pig tailed monkey to feed. Looking out through the window curtain from the kitchen, I could see Butch already pacing his cage and "ooh-ing" for me. He was telling me in his humble way he has of communicating with me, that he was hungry. And he didn't want to be kept waiting. It was then that I found the time had come for me to fly. And so I did ...
Duce is the penname of Carman J.W. Vance at the Crest Yard in Fort Worth.
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