Good morning, Wednesday. Baby, it's cold outside.I like it. I'm crazy. Who cares. Next.
So there was this monkey named Papi who lived in Africa as a housepet. Papi relentlessly mesed with the poor family dog, throwing branches at it from his perch up high in the tree on the front lawn, and when Papi was inside the house, he would often slam doors in the dog's face so the dog couldn't hang out with the family. Poor puppy. Cheeky monkey. In addition to being a very loving and affectionate little monkey (except when it came to dogs), Papi possessed a special talent for some next level fetching.
On cue, little Papi would head into town, after knocking the dog down, with a pouch around his neck, that had a note inside that simply said "CIGARETTES". This intrepid, dog hating monkey would literally go into town, go into the local tobacco shop, and get his owner a pack of smokes, and then run all the way home, cigarettes in pouch, like the good, sweet, loyal monkey he was. Oh, and Papi only liked to eat when you were eating, and he particularly loved spaghetti and frequently stole your food. RIP Papi. You were kind of a jerk, but you were the best.
Oh, and men over 40 don't like to date women over 30, 30 being the absolute cutoff. And New York City is the best city in the world. It's better than Paris, London, Barcelona, or Morocco. There's always something to do, and they even have good tacos here if you know where to look. And Kanye is still a good rapper, even if Kim is out of control.
You may be wondering what in hell I'm talking about. But this is a snippet from an Uber ride I had this weekend from Brooklyn to the West Village. These are the stories and thoughts that was told to me by my driver, a man who was lucky enough to have young girlfriends and was once the proud owner of a very practical monkey. And my point in posting it is this- it's important to talk to people, to learn about their experiences, to share a laugh over pet monkeys and discuss Kanye and Kim and anything else. As someone who is prone to storytelling, it's important that I listen and engage with people each and every day. I highly recommend chatting with as many people as you can- we all know we love our headphones in the morning, but you'll miss stories like this. And that monkey story had me going for a few days. Just a friendly public service reminder to creative types and everyone else- find out people's stories, listen to them, ask them questions. It will only make you a better writer/human/pet owner. It's all about cheeky monkeys and character development, in places you would not expect to get such gems. That monkey really helped me today, even though I no longer smoke and he is just a figment of my mind on this chilly day. Thanks, Papi. Good lookin' out. Muses are everywhere.
And that's what's up this never lacking for inspiration kind of Wednesday in the 212. Yours, in once upon a time. XO