Kong was definitely a curious little fellow. He loved to explore, and he could be a bit manipulative in achieving his goals. One day in the sociology lab, he spotted the silver foil in a cigarette pack in the breast pocket of one of the grad students. (Back in those days, cigarettes generally came in packs rather than boxes.) Tobacco is bad for monkeys, so Mommy would not allow enough leash length to reach the pocket. (The student was sitting across the table from us.) Well, awhile after the cigarette pack had been, apparently, forgotten, Kong developed an intense fascination with a gooseneck study lamp that was attached to the table a ways down. He stared at it and tugged at his leash to get close enough to examine the lamp more closely. Little by little he inched his way there, and when he had gained enough slack in the leash to be able to reach out and touch the lamp, he vaulted 90 degrees to the right, straight onto the pocket with the cigarette pack. His little brain had managed to calculate the radius perfectly. It cost us a few knuckles to prevent his obtaining his tobacco prize!
Kong also enjoyed the occasional bug snack, so I had to be vigilant when we would be outdoors. I would be sitting in the grass and look down at Kong, perched on my knee, and find that him holding a huge spider and chowing down. Yikes!!! Not my fondest memories, as an arachniphobe.
Kong also loved to groom me and would spend quite a bit of time searching (futilely, I might add) for insects in my hair. He also enjoyed sitting on people’s chests and trying to pry open their lips. A fun little game. If he got the lips apart, he would then work on getting the teeth apart. Once he succeeded in that endeavor, he would peer in and study the uvula that hangs at the opening to the throat. Then…suddenly…a furry little arm would make a grab for said uvula. Fortunately, he never actually got hold of one, but he considered it good sport, all the same.
Here’s the thing: Kong was cute. Mr. Personality. Surrounded by friends and fans.
And then there was Mo.
A couple of years after Kong’s unfortunate demise (spilled baby food plums on a piece of woven fabric and tried to eat it off, thus choking, when we were not there to help him), we got Mo. Whereas Kong has cost $19.95 at the local discount store pet department, Mo was $25.95, the result of inflation. Mo, who we later realized was bigger than Kong had been as a baby, had most likely been netted from the rain forest, yanked away from his family and friends, and imported to the U.S., thus rather miffed at the tremendous disruption in his life. He was NOT Mr. Personality. Or Mr. Congeniality. Or Mr. Nice Guy. Mo tended to be a bit testy, pushy, domineering, and ornery.
More Mo Monkeyshines to come…….