A Very Bad Day

As I woke up after tossing and turning during the long night, I could tell that my day was not going to go well.  Lately I seem to be tired and stressed most days. I guess maybe it’s because I’m getting along in years. But then aren’t we all. After my stretching exercises, I decided to go and get something to eat. As I entered the common area, I could see that some breakfast food had been set out by the facility attendants. I walked over to the where they had arranged the food and made my choices. I then went and sat down to eat. In the morning I prefer eating melons and citrus fruit. It seems to sooth my stomach. Unfortunately, I found a fly on my melon. Oh well, I guess I should consider this to be par for the day; after all, it just adds a little protein to my diet.

     One of the other residents decided he wanted my orange instead of getting his own. I’ve always felt he was a little strange, and sometimes just downright annoying. As he grabbed the orange, I shouted and pushed him away. An attendant who heard the commotion soon came to see what was happening. By then the crazy food hoarder had calmed down and went off by himself to eat my orange. I suppose this was what my day was going to be like. After I ate, I decided to take a walk around the facility to get some well needed exercise. Even at my age, I try to keep fit. I spent a little time visiting with some of the other residents, and finally began to walk back to my usual spot.

     Suddenly I was struck on my back by something hard, perhaps it was a stick. It turned out that one of the other residents of the facility was just being mischievous. He probably thought it was funny to see my reaction. When I confronted him, he ran off to avoid any more contact with me. I started to run after him, but I fell on a log and hit my head. I sat on the ground for a while until I realized that I wasn’t injured, but just a little shaken. Most of the time the attendants are usually around and seem to be concerned about our wellbeing, but this time they didn’t see what happened. Normally the staff would try to intervene and make things right. Rather than make a big deal out of what had just happened, I picked myself up off the ground and meandered over to the usual spot where I like to sit, hoping no one else was going to interfere with my solitude.

            As I sat contemplating my miserable life, a very young visitor to our facility pointed at me and shouted that I looked like a hairy ape. Ok, ok, I’m old and somewhat hairy. The excessive hair runs in my family, and there’s nothing I can do about it; however, it does feel uncomfortable when someone points it out. Well, I guess I should expect that kind of behavior from the people who come here, since I do reside at the San Diego Zoo in the baboon enclosure. My response is usually “Hoo, Hoo, Hoo, Hoo.”