The Wonderful Influence of Mankind

Monkey see monkey do, is pretty apt description of monkeys. My father’s first monkey on our original river boat learned quite a bit. He would watch the guests and when they left would pick up a still lit cigar and start puffing on it. He would also watch the guests drink beer, and kindly finish theirs for them when they stepped away. The only problem is that monkeys are terrible drunks. Chico was his name and he used to get drunk every night on the old boat, but being drunk he would lose his monkey stills to do such things as walk and climb. When climbing up the side of the boat from deck to deck, being drunk, he would then fall into the river giving you not only a drunken monkey but an unhappy one as well. The other thing he would do would be to slide across the deck propelled by one arm because he was too drunk to walk but not drunk enough to pass out. Other than the learned vices, he was always a good friend behaving himself for the most part during the day.
So yes, monkeys do watch humans and imitate them. Konge has been watching Gel my maintenance man I believe, which is the only way I can explain his hobo like characteristics. Gel has enough money, but he really doesn’t care, so when he goes into town instead of having a decent bag to put his stuff in, he uses a garbage bag quite resembling a hobo as he’s walking along the street having just gotten off the river boat. Another thing I tease him about is that after lunch he takes a nap on one of the benches in front of the employee mess just like some bum sleeping on a park bench at night. The first time I saw him doing this, I asked him, very sarcastically, if he didn’t have a bed, but it was too far away he said, which is why I suspect Konge of imitating him. I found Konge has a striking resemblance to a hobo as well. He sleeps on a bench in front to my apartment while the other monkeys are in the trees, and true to his hobo nature, he doesn’t forage for food, he sits begging outside the mess hall, or stealing when people are unaware of his presence. Another way monkeys have benefited from the influence of mankind.