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Growing up in the suburbs, we did not have all of the great cultural exhibits to visit as one who grew up in a large city. We DID however, have some lovely little zoos and parks near-by that we frequented.
One such place was near Hackensack- I don't even recall the name of it- it's long gone, but there's a story! One that lives on and on and on at any family gathering... you know the type of story!
The star of this story (besides the monkey and the peacock) is Patty!
First some background... whenever we went to this little zoo, park, whatever... we did NOT get souvenirs. We begged, pleaded and dragged and/or stomped our feet but it was NOT going to happen... even the most beautiful peakcock feather, for sale for probably a dollar, was not going to be purchased.
Along comes lucky Patty. As we're walking by the peacock area, she spots a rare dropped feather- lying there on the ground- FREE for the taking... oh my!! She grabs up the feather and procedes to taunt us all with it! HAH! I have a souvenir... I have something and YOU DON'T!!
We spend a good part of the rest of our time at the zoo having to listen to her about her magnificent find... her amazing luck... ugh.
Knowing me, I probably screamed and she probably got smacked.. so as we were finishing up our visit, she was sulking and I was probably giving her the "grin." HEH.
As we approached the monkey cage.. she decided that she can't torment me.. but why 
not a monkey! She quietly approached the cage and stuck the feather through the wires...
kitchy- kitchy- koo little monkey....
and then snatched the feather back, frustrating the monkey to no end... again... kitchy - kitchy - koo... and tickle tickle through the wire cage... and snatched it back. The monkey was beginning to get agitated. (If I could have spent a few hours with the monkey, I could have told him about FRUSTRATION!). One more time...
kitchy- kitchy- koo little monkey.
The monkey GRABS the feather... and begins to EAT IT! Patty is screaming... she's crying.. she's furious... she doesn't have a souvenir anymore. Security came with guns drawn... oh not really, but it COULD have happened that way.
I think I just "grinned". Some days it's good to be the middle child.
