This chimp named Judy escaped from her cage and, until she was sedated, ran gently amuck in a service area at the zoo where she lives. She raided the refrigerator and the freezer, scarfed up some chimp snacks and juices and snagged a loaf of cinnamon-raisin bread.
All that seems perfectly reasonable. Healthy. Normal. But, in between all this, she did a couple of things that may indicate a serious personality disorder and I'm worried there aren't any chimp shrinks.
What am I talking about? Judy, momentarily free and on her own, did not choose to swing from the chandelier or call up her friends for a party. Out of all the options open to her, she chose -- gulp -- housecleaning jobs.
I am not making this up.
Judy squeezed out a sponge and proceeded to wipe down the refrigerator. I do not think she was getting rid of her fingerprints so nobody would know she'd raided the durned thang. Then, unable to control her dark compulsions, she grabbed a brush and cleaned the toilet!
If that isn't a cry for help, I don't know what is. She is probably suffering from flash-backs. It seems that 37-year old Judy used to be a pet before the zoo got her. Hah! I'll bet she had to wash windows and mop floors, too. Once she left the safety of her zoo quarters, all those early memories started coming back.
I hope the experience doesn't give her nightmares. Until she's worked through the trauma, though, I think the zoo people ought to make sure she has a plentiful supply of cinnamon-raisin bread. It's a proven comfort food, after all.
Eddi update: Steady improvement -- today they moved her out of ICU into a regular room. The doctor is not happy with her white cell count yet but she IS getting better! Huzzah!
All that seems perfectly reasonable. Healthy. Normal. But, in between all this, she did a couple of things that may indicate a serious personality disorder and I'm worried there aren't any chimp shrinks.
What am I talking about? Judy, momentarily free and on her own, did not choose to swing from the chandelier or call up her friends for a party. Out of all the options open to her, she chose -- gulp -- housecleaning jobs.
I am not making this up.
Judy squeezed out a sponge and proceeded to wipe down the refrigerator. I do not think she was getting rid of her fingerprints so nobody would know she'd raided the durned thang. Then, unable to control her dark compulsions, she grabbed a brush and cleaned the toilet!
If that isn't a cry for help, I don't know what is. She is probably suffering from flash-backs. It seems that 37-year old Judy used to be a pet before the zoo got her. Hah! I'll bet she had to wash windows and mop floors, too. Once she left the safety of her zoo quarters, all those early memories started coming back.
I hope the experience doesn't give her nightmares. Until she's worked through the trauma, though, I think the zoo people ought to make sure she has a plentiful supply of cinnamon-raisin bread. It's a proven comfort food, after all.
Eddi update: Steady improvement -- today they moved her out of ICU into a regular room. The doctor is not happy with her white cell count yet but she IS getting better! Huzzah!
5 comments:
You go visit Eddi now and tell her the story about the monkey and she will bust up laughing boosting her wbc. :-)
Still have snow?
That previous chimp owner has a lot to answer for. Hurrah for Eddi tho. That's somethjing to cheer about.
Your note function won't save my name or web page address while other's at Blogger will. Is this a setting on your part?
Hey, stay warm.
I don't know if you were a fan of his, but considering your penchant for humor, I thought you might have held a warm spot in your heart for Art Buchwald. He died yesterday at the tender age of 81.
Here is a link to his video obituary:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/khtml/2007/01/18/obituaries/20070118_BUCHWALD_FEATURE.html
Hugs to all
Festus
Okay. Somethin' weird is going on here. I've responded twice now, and neither post has shown up. Grrrr.
Testing, testing, pass or fail?
Huggles, Dee ...
Hah! Looky there!
Okay ... to rehash the posts that did NOT go through: Anon: no, I haven't restricted comment posts in any way but, obviously, there seem to be times the program wants to mess with us. (smile)
Fes: Yes, indeed, I'm a Buchwald fan and thank you for linking us to the video obit. Even on my sloooow dial-up, it was very much worth the time it took.
Huggles, Dee ...
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