the new monkey

In an effort to lift me up from the depths of my mourning, Julia ordered a replacement Monkey on eBay. Or so she thought. What arrived might have looked like an exact replica to the untrained eye, but right away I knew something was off. His brow had a little dip, his eyes were a little bigger, he looked a little healthier, but most importantly, in place of the slight frown/sulk that I had grown to love was the makings of a slight smirk. It seems the folks over at Beanie Babies couldn't just leave well enough alone and took it upon themselves to screw up a good thing. Either that or a slightly depressed monkey wasn't exactly raking in the profits.

At first I didn’t want anything to do with the thing – I told Julia to get rid of it. I felt like a rich couple that had paid an exorbitant sum to have their sick dog or terminally ill child cloned, only to realize they’d made a terrible mistake and that they could never recreate the original. But Julia kept putting it back on my desk, and eventually it took the old Monkey’s place on the right studio monitor, the centerpiece to his shrine.

I will reluctantly admit that he has grown on me over the last few weeks. He wears the same manila rubber band headband that the old Monkey had taken to wearing in his final days. He favors a slouching posture, dangling one leg over the side of the monitor, which accentuates his potbelly. From the right angle he even seems to be working on a frown of his own. There will only be one original, but this guy has earned his keep. If the old Monkey ever shows up again (proving that there IS a god), there will be some important territorial decisions to be made. Until then, we’re getting by just fine.