Monkey Business

There's not much going on in Huntsville, at least on Sundays. We drove through the downtown area, and there were cars on the streets, and a surprising number of photographers taking what appeared to be senior photos--but the restaurants & bars were closed, and the sidewalks were nearly empty. It took a few times before we could find a bathroom and a place to get a drink.

When we walked back through Big Spring Park afterward, we found an older gentleman sitting on some steps with a few friends, his three year old daughter, and a capuchin monkey named Niki. Niki, as it turns out, is partial to Auburn fans, & Patrick's emphatic "War Eagle!" may explain why the little monkey loved him so much.

I sat down on the steps and held out my hand, which Niki held, before climbing up on my arm, onto my shoulders, and perched there with her hands on the top of my head. She kept staring at Patrick, wiggling her eyebrows up and down at him, until he came over to stand next to her, and held out his fingers, too. Niki has these little hands, just like a child's but with longer fingers, and when she holds your hand it feels like she trusts you. When she held Patrick's hand, she pulled him down and closer to her, until she could crawl up his arm and onto his shoulders, too. Niki sat on his head, picking through his mess of hair and putting her little fingers in her mouth--we were reassured by her owner, who said she likes to pretend to find nits when she grooms humans.

Niki is six, and the man's daughter is just three. The man got Niki as a baby, and when the daughter came along, Niki decided the newcomer was her little baby. When we left, the little girl was sitting on the steps, sucking her thumb, and Niki sat down next to her and put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

Niki cost eight thousand dollars and now we want a monkey.