Author: Monkeybrad (Page 28 of 57)

Praying Mantis

December 11, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Keeping with this week’s, apparent, theme of lessons taught and learned, tonight we will look into opinions and one very key, and often overlooked, feature of them. Of course, we could delve into the whole “everyone has one” thing and all of the rhetorical possibilities that lie down that path, but that would be counter to my message. So, I will simply point out that you don’t have to have an opinion on anything that you don’t want to. It is ok to just let things go by without comment. So in that spirit, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the Praying Mantis.

Midnight Stinger

December 10, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 3 Comments

Hiking last weekend I ended up with a bee in my shirt. The boy and I had stirred up a hive and they were buzzing around. My first instinct was to run or swat at them, but they weren’t stinging, just flying all around us. I figured they were curious about the two big bears that had wandered so near to their home. So we made a calm retreat, it was then that I realized I had a stowaway on board. A hitchhiker that had slipped up my sleeve. Once again, my instinct was to swat at it and take the sting, but I decided to try and set a good example for the kid about staying cool under pressure, so I talked him through the process as I helped the little fella get back to the air and we all walked away unscathed, maybe a little wiser. Being cool, calm and collected worked out, this time. So, in honor of our little friend, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Midnight Stinger.

Between the Sheets

December 9, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

You play a lot of roles every day, with varying success. Some days you nail the business stuff, but let a friend down. Other days you are a decent husband but drop the ball as a father. Every once in a while you mail it all in and take a zero day. It’s rare that you get it all right. The good news is, it is equally rare that you get it all wrong. Lots of little wins and little losses, hoping that it all balances out in the end and that you get more wins in the things that matter and take your losses in the superfluous stuff. I won some today and lost some and that makes me tired. So, won’t you please join me as we stand and make Between the Sheets.

Poet’s Dream

December 8, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Tonight, I am thinking of a Christmas gift from long ago. In college, a dear friend gave me a book of poetry inscribed with one of her poems and the most lovely message. I have been carrying it around for nearly thirty years and it is in surprisingly good shape for the miles. Not sure I can say the same for myself. So, in honor of the gift and the impulse that inspires the giver please join me now as we stand and make, the Poet’s Dream.

Montenegro Sour

December 7, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

A date which will live in infamy, indeed. I figure y’all keep up with the news so you’re aware that this is the 79th Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack that killed 2,403 people, when we were caught unawares by Japanese forces. It was a sneak attack that very few people considered possible and almost no one anticipated. Unlike our current situation which has been predicted since well back in the summer when folks were being pretty clear about how masks and social distancing would keep us from hitting the awful benchmark of 100,000 new cases and up to 1,000 deaths per day or roughly half our current counts. If only there was something we could have done. If only there was some way that we could make a difference now. If only there was some way to stop the day after day death rates as high as this infamous date 79 years ago. Maybe drinking will help, it’s not likely too, but it is easy, so please join me as we stand and make the Montenegro Sour.

Devilish Coffee Milk Punch

December 6, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 2 Comments

We have been talking about travel quite a bit lately, I guess it is true that when you can’t do something, talking about it is the next best thing. Unless you’ve got facetime, of course. The topic came around to New Orleans which was basically just a list of places where we wanted to go have a drink or appetizer or dessert or even a meal. We are strong believers in the moveable feast. Some of my very best meals ever, took place over 3-4 hours in 4-5 restaurants or bars, with lots of time to stroll the streets and laugh in between courses. New Orleans certainly lends itself to this sort of meandering celebration of decadence, with lots of incredible options and character to spare. After spending a bit of time salivating over meals and cocktails past, my father began to pine for a Milk Punch he had enjoyed at Arnaud’s and then he sent me a recipe. So, won’t you please join me as we stand and make, a Devilish Coffee Milk Punch.

The Last Menta

December 5, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

We walked up a mountain today, and back down again, just for kicks. It wasn’t a huge mountain, but the trip still put about 9 1/2 miles on the boots today and this old chassis is in need of an oil change and some lubrication. So please join me now as we stand, well, lean and make The Last Menta.

Banana Calling

December 4, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It’s been a bit of a day and I ended up with more to do in the evening than I had anticipated, so please excuse my brevity. To be fair, I am looking forward to a drink tonight, lord knows we all need one. For the folks who are just tired of all this, nearly 3,000 people have died, today, so far, in the US alone. Over 100,000 people in the hospital tonight. Over 100,000 families praying that they get to see and hold and talk to their loved ones again and that they don’t join the over 276,000 families who have lost someone to this disease. So yeah, wear the damned mask. You didn’t come here to get lectured though, you came for the dancing monkey to say something funny. So get up, stand up and join me as we make the Banana Calling.

Menta Wray

December 3, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Today is brain scan day which I will celebrate in the traditional manner, lying very still on the cold table and keeping my eyes closed, as one does. You may have noted that I have mentioned having a headache a few times in the last month or so. You also may not have noted it. I don’t expect folks to read closely, after all there is no test at the end of the course. Not to worry, gentle reader, you will be graded according to the capricious whims of fortune and the insight of your benevolent instructor. Do not fear this fate, it frees you to focus on learning what you wish, taking some lessons and leaving others without fear of reprimand. Not being in control of things can be comforting, if you lean into it and just accept that some things are not going to make sense or be just. To be fair, my attitude is probably affected by my attempt to maintain a zen-like calm as they take a routine look under the hood to make sure that there is nothing more sinister going on in this already not quite normal collections of impulses that serves as my brain. So, in that spirit, won’t you join me as we stand and make the traditional drink of brain scan day, the Menta Wray.

White Lady

December 2, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 2 Comments

You ever notice just how many references there are to ghosts in Christmas lore? Scrooge is nothing but one ghost story after another, each with a lesson to impart. “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” rattles off “scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmas long, long ago” as if those were staples of the season. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra would love nothing more than to sing to you once again of “The Ghosts of Christmas Past” in an attempt to pay off that over the top stage show. But if I am honest, unless you take a tenuous link to the Holy Ghost, I don’t really think of any spirits outside of those in my glass as part of my yuletide celebration. So, why am I thinking of them tonight? Well, I cried my way through the final episode of Supernatural yesterday and it left me a bit gutted. The Winchester’s have moved on, leaving us with their stories and a not so subtle reminder that things are not always what they seem, so in that spirit, please join me as we make The White Lady.