Meri did not come to work today; she did not tell us that she was not going to be here and she did not tell Zorash or Amama but Amama overheard her tell someone that she was going to be traveling. Zorash called to see where she was and she had to go to a funeral. Not sure who the funeral was for or where it was. She will not have to make up the day because the government gave them 2 days this year for the ending of Ramadan, the month-long Muslim fast which we had not accounted for when we figured their leave. It is kind of nice to have a day banked in case of an emergency.
Donkey has been having trouble with his back. We have repeatedly asked him to go to the hospital but he is stubborn and does not want to go. This morning he said that he was going to go to one of the doctor’s houses and tell him about his back. Really! What is the doctor going to do from his house except prescribe pain medicine. We think he might benefit from a round of steroids. It would probably help the inflammation if nothing else.
A new baby came to the Center this morning; she is a little girl that is about 1 ½ years old. She has finally learned to sit but she is not crawling or walking or talking yet. It appears that she has trisomy 21 but her case is not very severe. Steve explained that the baby would take longer than other babies to reach her milestones. We asked what the people in her neighborhood and family were saying about the child. She said that they did not think that she was a real human being but that she, the mom, knew she was a real baby. When we asked what the father said about the child, she said that he has not told her anything yet; she said that he is just running up and down from one Juju (witchdoctor) to another buying herbs and remedies to try to find a cure for the baby. We told the mother to enjoy raising a baby that is not a crier or too fussy! There is always a danger that the family will reject the child as not being human. Those cases are particularly sad. Of course, it is against Ghana’s Child Protection laws to harm the children but sometimes it happens anyway because the people are afraid of the children and do not believe that they are humans. We had a used baby walker at the Center. It is the one Meri had used for her last child. It was still in good shape so Steve gave it to the mother so the child could practice standing and scooting around. The more involved we are in these cases the better chance the child has to survive.
Steve took advantage of the cistern being three-quarters of the way full of water and he washed all the vehicles this afternoon. A few years ago, we bought a small pressure washer to clean the monkey cage. It worked well. This particular pressure washer has its own internal pressure system so all you have to do is put the hose into a container of water and it is ready to use; it is electric.
Thank you for the love, prayers, and support.
In HIS Service,
Steve, Kandie and Skeeter
The Monkeyshines
Ok! Now let’s talk about this canned tuna fish! Where do you really think it comes from and is it one of those “highly processed foods” that should be avoided. If it is a “highly processed food” why is Mom trying to feed it to me? She gave me a piece while she was fixing supper; I took it just to be nice. I ate it, it was not awful but should a monkey even be eating fish? That just seems a little too bizarre to me! Have you ever seen a monkey documentary where the monkeys are out in the middle of a stream catching fish? We are smart enough to organize ourselves to catch fish but I can tell you that is not what monkeys are doing! I think the tuna fish added to my diet has more to do with Mom’s desire to add more protein! If I have a stomach ache tomorrow we will know it is from the tuna fish!
While Dad was washing the cars he washed my jail cell. He felt he had to wash it because Mom gave me a bath today! No one enjoyed that bath! Mom and I fought through the whole ordeal! By the time my bath was over Mom was wet from head to foot and I was exhausted. I really thought that I was strong enough to prevent the bath but Mom is a beast! As soon as my bath was over, I drank a bottle of milk / cereal and took a nap. I slept for almost an hour; I was sleeping on Dad so life was good!
I am going to become a “Fruitarian”!
Love, Skeeter
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