(I remember going to Benson's! And I did edit one sentence of Dad's post, as his wording made it sound like my sisters and I are monkeys. We're not. Enjoy! -- Tracy)
Derf Here! From the snow-dwindling State of Maine. We still have tons of snow, but the snowbanks are shrinking. Yippee!
Josh's team won again (7-3). Josh reached base three times with one strikeout. He reached on a fielder's choice, base hit and a walk. He drove in three runs, made a play at second base and threw out a runner while catching.
Lew and I got the 'Seven Reeds' to the airport at 5:00 a.m. for the flight to Texas Saturday, as they are now cruising somewhere in the Pacific. We'll pick them up Sunday.
While talking with sister Deb I was reminded of an evening back in the early 1950s that we went to visit a chimpanzee. Sister Jean inquired about this. She had spoken to Deb and wondered if I was at the chimp visit. I was!
As kids we visited "Benson's Wild Animal Park" in Hudson, N.H. Perhaps more about this place in a later blog. Well, I recall a chimp (it could have been a gorilla) that used to spit at people. Some of the spit was a result of a bodily function. Nasty! Nasty! Nasty! I still liked the chimp! Benson's closed in 1987. I should add that we visited Benson's with our own kids!
As written about weeks ago, we had several (5) monkeys when we were kids. So we kind of gravitated to the species.
In the early 1950s the "Today" show with Dave Garroway had a co-host called J. Fred Muggs. Mr. Muggs was a chimp born on March 14, 1952. J. Fred was on the show starting on February 2, 1953 and continued as co-host for quite some time. His attire was impeccable as he trotted about the studio. (As of March 15, 2002, J. Fred was alive and living with friend Phoebe in Florida.)
About this time, Dad got wind of a chimp for sale in Portland. One evening off we went to visit with "Helita." I recall the location was on Forest Avenue, behind the old Union Station. I remember playing with Helita, holding her like a baby and just fascinated with the creature. Sister Deb recalls viewing Helita's room with a refrigerator filled with goodies available to her whenever she wanted something to eat or drink. Needless to say, we didn't go home with Helita as Dad didn't buy her. It was a close encounter with a real live chimp. The evening was enjoyed by all.
Shortly after our trip to visit Helita there was a show on television called "The Beverly Hillbillies." There was a young lady (tomboy) on the show called Ellie May Clampett, played by Donna Douglas. Ellie had 'critters' and one of them was a chimpanzee. I've often wondered if the chimp on the show was Helita. Probably not, but could have been.
At the time I wanted Dad to purchase Helita but, in retrospect, it was probably better that he didn't. Probably most of us remember that in 2003 a chimp named Travis turned on his owner and her friend with tragic results. The attack nearly took the friend's life.
After reading and seeing the devastating results of the attack, I'm glad we were never in that position. I never knew the strength of a chimpanzee.
Hopefully you all remember about the previously mentioned animals. I surely do and must admit I thoroughly enjoyed my evening with Helita. A life long memory!!
Until next time;
Toodle Pip! Derf.
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