December 14 is Monkey Day! Casey Sorrow and Erik Millikin invented Monkey Day in 2000 just because. One of the traditions is to raise awareness of simians, the threats to their existence, and their mistreatment at the hands of … well, of anyone who removes them from the wild and uses them, for entertainment or experimentation.

If you would like to make a donation to an excellent institution with simians’ best interests at heart, I can recommend The Oklahoma Primate Sanctuary. According to their Mission Statement,

The Oklahoma Primate Sanctuary provides exceptional, compassionate, lifetime care for non-human primates retired from research, rehomed from the pet trade, or retired from display. We are dedicated to providing a highly enriched quality of life for the primates in our care by giving them access to natural environments, regular psychological enrichment, a healthy and diverse diet, and professional veterinary care.

But, of course, Monkey Day will always mean one main thing to me:

The Handsome Monkey King!

I don’t have any monkey plates, alas, so these nails will have to do.

A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: What will you do for Monkey Day?

MA