Outsmarted by a primate
REMEMBER WHEN
Did you ever have a time when you thought you were “ten feet tall and bulletproof?” I had several of those times in my teens. I found out the summer I was 13 years old just how foolish I was and how a monkey could make an “uncle” out of me.
Usually in July my dad would take a Friday off from work and we would pack and go to Old Orchard Beach. This summer was different, however, as we went to York Beach instead. They had an amusement park there as well as an animal farm where the animals roamed the grounds loose or at least the llamas and deer and such did. The smaller animals, except the chimps, were in cages.
The chimps were unique in that they had houses at the top of 15- to 20-foot poles. They had a length of chain attached to their platform at one end and a bucket at the other. They used the bucket to let down so folks could buy and give them food. Back then for a quarter you could get an ice cream cone full of nuts and seeds and grains and things that the animals ate.
I bought one. This chimp I was watching saw me with the cone and let down his bucket and I dumped half the food in. He took it up and ate it all then let the bucket down again and I dumped the rest in and he ate that. He immediately dropped the bucket again and I put the cone in which he also enjoyed then dropped his bucket again. Not having any food left I thought, “He’s a dumb animal, he won’t know the difference.” So I put a handful of sand in his bucket which he pulled up and checked. He felt it, smelled it and tasted it then he just sat there looking at me.
I soon tired of that and started to walk away, directly under him. All of a sudden, I felt sand in my hair, running down my face and into my shirt through the collar. That chimp was sitting there looking at me after he dumped the contents of his bucket on my head. That wasn’t the worst part! He was giving me a huge “Chimpy” horse laugh at the same time. He sure showed me who was the smarter of the species.
I laugh about it now when I see a movie or pictures with chimps in then and “Remember When …”
Guy Woodworth of Presque Isle is a 1973 graduate of Presque Isle High School and a four-year Navy veteran. He and his wife Theresa have two grown sons and five grandchildren. He may be contacted at lightning117_1999@yahoo.com.
