Well, yesterday was a bit of a bust. I overslept and decided to go to Wendy’s to get my chicken sandwiches for Friday’s post instead of looking for a couch.
So that frees me up today to spend all my time before work getting a couch. There’s also two bookcases on the way, so soon I’ll be updating these posts with pictures as the MBIP World Headquarters, Mach IV comes to life!
But first, let’s go visit the one room that is pretty much all set up…
The bathroom! It’s a long counter and sink which is good because I can line up all my pills and Clinique products up in a row! And of course this can only lead to…
The obligatory bathroom mirror shot! Complete with a cameo from my toilet!
While unpacking boxes, this Furious Little Monkey sculpture was one of the last things I unpacked and I’m so grateful it survived. There’s quite a history behind it and here it is.
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Furious Little Monkey!
Way back in the beginning of the summer of 2005, I went shopping for a birthday present for my brother, Jim. I was living in New York City back then and I went to a consignment store in the East Village that sold my book, 99 Beers Off The Wall. I can’t remember the name of the place (it’s long gone now, of course) but they only sold items from local New York artists, craft-artists, writers and musicians.
The owner had to approve what you wanted to sell in there and then they’d price it and you’d get a cut from every purchase. Through the years I probably sold a couple hundred books in there. I got four bucks for every book they sold, so a few times every year, I’d go and collect up whatever they owed me and drop off a new shipment of books.
It was getting close to Jim’s birthday, so I thought I’d look for a present in there for him. I liked to support the place because they supported the New York art community.
I entered the store and I walked up to the counter and asked the kid behind it if there was any consignment money for Marty Wombacher and if they wanted a few more books. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, had a shaved head and was wearing a Replacements t-shirt.
He smiled when he saw the book and said, “Oh wow, I love that book, I just read it a couple of weeks ago! “
“Oh thanks,” I replied and then asked, “did you buy it or just read it in the store?”
He looked real funny and skittishly replied, “Uh…well…I just read it in the store. I don’t have a lot of money.”
I laughed and said, “I’m just fucking with you, nobody’s got a lot of money, we live in New York City! I’m just happy you took the time to read it!”
He perked up and told me again how much he enjoyed it. Then he dug out an envelope from a filing cabinet with my name on it and said, “Speaking of money, here you go!”
I thanked him and counted up the money and there was 16 bucks in there. Who says writing doesn’t pay?
I then told him I was going to look for a birthday present for my brother and he took the books I brought and said he’d re-stock them.
After about twelve minutes of browsing, I came upon a wooden art sculpture of a crazed looking monkey, holding a bloody knife, with a head and various body parts scattered below him. On the front of the sculpture it said, “Furious Little Monkey!”
I loved it and as I was walking up to the counter with it, the kid behind the counter had a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
As I got up to the counter, I said to the kid, “My brother’s going to love this! Do you know who made this?”
The kid proudly proclaimed, “I did! I’m an artist and that’s one of my pieces!”
We both laughed and I told him he was a genius artist and he said that he really appreciated the compliment and that I was buying a piece of his art.
It was priced at 20 bucks and he said, “You know what, I’ll sell that to you for ten. I’ll give you a discount for reading your book in the store!”
I thanked him, paid him and headed home. A couple days later I packed it up and mailed it to Jim and he got it a couple days before his birthday
After the present arrived, Jim called me up and he was really excited about the gift and said he loved it and where the hell did I find such a thing?
I told him the story and he loved the fact that the artist was the kid behind the counter who had read my book.
Jim died the next year in March, so that was the last birthday present I ever got for him.
After he died, we cleaned out his house and his art studio. When we walked in to his art studio, I immediately noticed the Furious Little Monkey sculpture displayed prominently on his desk in there. I took it and I’ve had it ever since.
I was so fucking afraid that the Furious Little Monkey got destroyed in the fire. Well, just like Gloria Gaynor, he survived!
And I’m oh so happy to announce the following statement about the monkey: He’s still furious.
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Related Post: MBIP World Headquarters, Mach IV: Redecoration Day 1: 4-20-22.