As we kick off the new year, here are a few news items from around the nation and world that I hope bring a smile to your face, from an escaped monkey in a tutu to a big honor for a beloved custodian.
Fancy Monkey on the Run
In Jefferson County, Missouri, sheriff’s deputies showed their softer side by gently coaxing a tiny escaped spider monkey into captivity just ahead of last week’s brutal winter storm.
The monkey, wearing a bright pink tutu, had escaped by opening a door in the home where it had been staying.
A sweet photo shows a uniformed officer reaching out to the monkey, who took his hands. The wayward primate was returned to the caretaker, bringing what the sheriff’s office called “this bananas situation” under control.
School Honors Beloved Janitor
Two hours west, in the tiny town of Swedeborg, Missouri, a longtime custodian received a shock when she showed up to school one day and saw that the K-8 red brick building now bore her name.
The Claudene Wilson Learning Center honors the 64-year-old janitor who retired in June after working at the school since 1994. During her long tenure she would often take on extra tasks, like working the lunch line, helping with plumbing, or getting ice cream if she thought students could use a pick-me-up.
She often shared her motto with the kids: “See if you can lift people up.”
Even after retiring, she took on bus driving duties four days a week after learning the district was short a driver.
She greets each student by name. After three decades, she knows the names of their parents, too. The students often come to her to talk over their problems. She’s happy to lend an ear.
“I’m here to help them, get them to grow and get them ready for the outside world,” Wilson said. “Whatever I could do, I did.”
Good News Times Two
A woman in Cedar Falls, Iowa, celebrated the best news of her life last fall, then was hit with an extra helping of blessing.
Lily Miller, 24, had been battling stage 2B Hodgkin lymphoma. After six months of treatment, she learned that she was cancer-free. A week later, she won $25,000 in a scratch ticket she bought at a convenience store.
She had moved into her mother’s home while battling cancer. Winning the lottery and being healthy enough to go back to work all were a big boost as she worked to put her life back together.
“I don’t think it could’ve come at a better time,” Miller said.
Yule Enjoy Eating This
A zoo in Berlin celebrates Christmas by giving unused Christmas trees to its animals as a holiday treat. The elephants in particular enjoy the evergreens, tearing off the evergreen branches with their trunks, lobbing them around the enclosure and snacking on the needles.
The giraffes were a bit more reserved. Max seemed to enjoy the greenery but companion Mugambi was a little more finicky.
Playing with their food is encouraged.
“The animals can fight with them, they can rub themselves against them, they can throw themselves over them and do various other things with these fir trees,” said Florian Sicks, the zoo’s curator for mammals. “And so we enrich the animals’ everyday lives, which they are very happy about.”
Dad Joke of the Week
This is in honor of my wife, who just went to the Salkum hatchery pick up a salmon eggs for her students to raise in her classroom. (They’ll release them into Olequa Creek later this year.)
Q: What does Santa say when he gives the gift of silver salmon?
A: “Cohoho!”
Brian Mittge’s column appears in The Chronicle each Saturday. Contact him at brianmittge@hotmail.com.
