Saturday, January 2, 2010

Plastered Primates--or--Where Did Those Photos Come From???

I had a question about the monkey photos, and it is a story worth repeating. First off, because it was in the day before political correctness and secondly, it will prove how utterly immature I am.
These photos are of my Aunt and Uncle, and no, the monkey is neither, though I have to admit I would have rather been related to the monkey.......I am not sure what year they were taken, but it had to be the early '60's I am guessing, or the end of the '50's at the very earliest.  My Uncle is in the photo on the left, my Aunt is the woman in the photo on the right. Every New Years Eve, Gary posts the combo of these to the Base website as a warning not to drink and drive.
Anyway, the backstory.....

There was a bar in a small town called Mexico, Indiana, not far from where I live now, and the owner had a pet monkey. As I recall, and this is iffy---it's been a long time---the monkey was always with the owner and was a regular at the bar. There was also a family room, or maybe at that time they were allowed to serve food to minors if accompanied by an adult. No matter, I remember being there because the chimp grabbed my hand one day and we escaped, running as fast as we could down the road! I loved that chimp! (mother was less than impressed, but that's how mom's are, right?)
Fast forward to me graduating from high school, picking a college and going there. I receive a letter from my Aunt (they were my godparents, and all my life I had heard how they had started a Christmas Fund so I could attend college, etc, I mean, I heard this A LOT...). I open the letter and a single dollar bill falls out. Within the text of the letter was the following, which is paraphrased, due to the shock of reading it and me being rather annoyed and throwing the actual letter away while on a volatile swearing spree:

".........You have been such a great disappointment to us. You have embarrassed us, haven't done what we wanted, you have bad friends, so here is all you are getting of your college fund.
Have fun with it.
Don't spend it all in one place.

Love, Your Aunt Lena"

Well, that was a shocker, to say the least. I considered them a great embarrassment to the family at large and there were always rows when they would come during the Holidays, etc. It got ugly indeed. They were two exceptionally cruel people, fueled by each other's company. And the letter was the straw that broke the camel's back for me, and talk about trouble, oh yes, I had a marvelous time finding different ways I could mortify them......and I never finished school.
Fast forward again: both have passed away and I was the sole heir due to Tom being the last to die. The lawyer says, "There's a little money left....I'm sending a check out." Well, *little money* to me means $20-$50....right?
Wrong.
It was enough to build the studio. It was, more than likely, the Christmas Fund that I had never seen other than that one, single dollar bill.
And so I built the studio, and have made art, and have been happy and had success. And I am thankful every day for that. And I share as much as I can, know what it is like to have something you want so badly dangled in front of you and snatched away. And, being humiliated in the process.
So once a year, I have to revert to the snotty little child, the hurt teenager, the young girl who had done nothing to earn that letter and the pain it brought, and the bad decisions that arose from it and I post pictures of them--Tom and Lena--drunk in a bar, with a drunk monkey, and send the photos flying into cyberspace.
And somehow, it eases the doubts that still occasionally arise and I laugh because truly, I am having the last laugh on this one!
There. My secret immature side is revealed for all to read. Dear gentle readers, I hope you can laugh at this with me, because they truly were the *holier-than-thou* sort of folk one loves to do something like this to........and it proves you can't pick your family, but you can certainly pick your friends!
And I still would rather be related to the monkey!
And so, after that heartwarming story, I wish for you success, and cheer, and the good things in life.......
And yes.....

Pax.

24 comments:

yoborobo said...

Wow, Anne - Okay, you win. I thought I had the craziest and meanest relatives, but those two take the cake (or the Christmas fund in your case). You know, that is just snake mean. Snakes are nicer. And at the age that you got that nasty letter, well, it's right when you are TRYING to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and face the world. You need people in your corner saying "You can do this, let me help you." I know because I have two starting that journey now, and they need plenty of propping up. I have to say, I want to kick them both in the shins and run away with their monkey!!! ARRRRRGH! Some day I will tell you my college fund story, but right now I am just going to be righteously angry for you. Enjoy that studio, friend, you earned it. xoxoxox Pam

yoborobo said...

PS. Let me clarify - I want to kick your Aunt and Uncle in the shins, not my kids. Besides, my kids don't have a monkey! lol!

Robbie said...

Anne, what a story!!! It does take all kinds to make up the world and us in it! But just look at the great lady who once ran down that road with a monkey! Loved this life event story!!!

audrey said...

How sad... the alcoholic monkey, the cruel couple that was your Aunt and Uncle, and the knife that they stuck into you at a young age.
We've all most likely suffered the cruelty of someone in some form at some point in our lives. An unfortunate part of life. Really unfortunate when it comes from "family".
I am happy that you have your studio and you are definitely NOT the disappointment they said you were. I think the fact that you became a wonderful, talented lady who brings so much beauty and joy into the lives of so many everyday is enough to make them cringe for what they did (wherever they are now)!
♥ audrey

Janet Happy Girl said...

HAHAHA...paybacks are H E double hockey sticks! Every family has those mean, judgemental relatives in them. When we point a finger at someone in judgement, three more are pointing back at us. And, even at 54 sometimes I get a little rebellious too....so you keep posting those photos every year and every year we'll get kick out of it...

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

ROFLMAO!!!!
Pam, you are funny!! I knew who you meant....and do your kids NEED a monkey???? :D
Yeah, it is an immature but utterly satisfying way to put MY energy into the universe, with a laugh!
And that is why I love my studio so much....plus, it's nice to work in.
I await your story.....any time...on blog or off.

XXOO!!
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Robbie,

I guess I should sign my work *Monkey-Grrrrrrlllll*......it would be appropriate! LOL!!!
And this girl is happy, just a little too ornery!

XXOO!!
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Audrey,

Here's the kicker; they wanted me to be an anchorperson on the news, so they could *show me off* to their friends. I forgot to add, they could not have children, so their desires were channeled through ME, and boy, that was the WRONG CHANNEL!
I think that is why I enjoy helping folks and trying to keep the blog a happy place; there are too many people like this left in the world, and I bet you're right....where ever they are, they are cringing.

XXOO!!
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Janet,

You know, the more people I know, and the more that share family stories with me, the more of the awful behaviour I see, which is soooo sad. Life is too, too short.
But come New Years, up with the Monkey Photos!!! (yes, I am totally immature....but they're funny!)
And I love chimps anyway.... :)

XXOO!!
Anne

Anonymous said...

OMG.... I swear you & I are twins karmic twins...
back story for me.... I have A&U who are the primary reason for ruined Holidays when I was a child. They "pounded" on my mother about raising us kids. ((They never had any, nor wanted))
Now that Mom is gone they "pound" on me. Endlessly....
Long story short.... They are still alive... very wealthy.... They HATE Walmart.... They will do hours on the evils of the stores at any chance.... I am their heir.... When they "go" I will buy shares of Walmart stock & hopefully they will spin in their urns!!
Family..... That "F" word.....
Love Ya'!
Marilyn
xxoo

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Oh Marilyn.....the *F* word.....ROFLPIMP!!!!
What IS IT with people???? That sounds just like how mine were about everything. But NICE to people outside the family. So if I said, oh, they're mean, then I would get yelled at.....endless cycle, eh?
The joys of Family.
No wonder we love blogging so much!!! LOL!!!

XXOO!!
Anne
P.S. Don't buy shares of WM; too high a price for the return. Just go buy some awful plastic flowers there and stick them on their graves with the Walmart price tags still attached!!! >:)
Better ways to invest...

Anonymous said...

Oh dear Anne, I guess everyone has a college fund story and a mean relative or two. I will share mine one day. I think it is good to get it out of your system. My lack of the college experience was not due to meanness but of neglect. Coming through those kinds of things makes us who we are. You are a beautiful artist and hooray for that. Blessings
QMM

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi QMM,

I tell you what, it made me fiesty and tough, and I learned that you better be able to stand on your own two feet really quick!
Of course, I made some stupid decisions too, but that's life, and *that age* also.....oy. I'm sure I burned out a few Guardian Angels on my litle trek....
But I'm happy where I am, and at the end of the day, that is all that matters!

XXOO!!
Anne

audrey said...

Anne,
I bet each one of us had an angel or two jump off our shoulder at some point in our earlier days, screaming "ohhhh nooooo!!". Youth seems to make us do some "questionable" things. But, gee, look how wonderful we all turned out!!! lol!!

Georgina said...

Wow, Anne, that blows!!!! It's amazing how people can be so cruel and then have the nerve to disapprove of your decisions...sorry, but my older 2 kids are royal pains in my buttocks, but I would never tell them they are undeserving.

Oh well, payback is a beeatch and you did get the last laugh..hahahaha!!! As for the monkey, I recall a daughter of one of my mother's friends getting a chimp to practice on how to rear children...oey vey. Needless to say, they never had any!! Well, duh!!! LOL

Talk to you soon.

Love ya,
G

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Audrey....LOL!!! Yes, we turned out *perfect*....(rolls eyes and grins)

XXOO!!
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Yeah Georgina, what is it---she who laughs last...???? Laughs and laughs and laughs!!!

XXOO!!
Anne

Anna Rosa Designs said...

Hi Anne,
Thank you for sharing your very emotional story with us.

It made me cry and laugh-Cry for such sadness of a young niece and laugh at the way your turned out to be such a lovely person and in the end you got your just desserts, yes their inheritance!

I'm surprised your nasty Aunt and Uncle didn't leave it to RSPCA(Pet society)

Ah, some families really suck!
Big Hugs,
Anna

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Anna,

If it had not been for the funeral director, who had been a good friend of my parents and me, all of it would have gone to the local church. So even at the end, I have someone else to thank for the way things turned out.....
And do laugh!!! I do now! ;)

XXOO!!
Anne

Jan said...

You turned out to be such a wonderful person just to spite that Aunt and Uncle so I thank them!

I don't really thank them, A__Ho__'s. You made good use of that inheritance and we are all better for it. Funny how things turn out.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

It is Jan.....and it never ceases to amaze me the people still out there who drip syrup and are fetid and rotten in their soul, ready to do you in at any chance. I can't comprehend it al all.....
You made me smile with your comment---smiles are the sun of the universe!!!! Love you girl!

XXOO!!
Anne

Deborah said...

What the heck was wrong with those people? That is just about the most awful thing I have ever heard. I hope that they are in drunken monkey heaven in a tizzy seeing these pictures in cyber space! Not to worry, Anne, we all love you BIG! Love, Deb

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Deborah.....Laughing and snickering!!! I'm not sure they are in ANY sort of heaven, if ya know what mean!
I've just decided, after lots of family stories from folks---there are MEAN people out there and sometimes they happen to share the same tree as us.... <:\
As for me, I'm happy---that would irk them enough! LOL!!!

XXOO!!
Anne

di from di-did-it said...

You are like teflon to the word dull, aren't you? LOL....

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