Captain Courageous and the Horrible Hail

I imagine you’ve probably had times when you’ve thought to yourself  ‘it seemed like a good idea at the time…’  I just had one of those. In my ongoing pursuit for World Domination by Glass Monkees I’ve launched a new site – – seemed like a good idea at the time! Thank goodness I am able to create these things myself or I’d be costing us a fortune, I’m realising that I have a ‘little problem’ when it comes to making websites – I can’t stop!  I was very good and curbed a really strong desire to register another url, for which David will probably be eternally thankful!  So there it is, here it is Merrickville Monkees. Part of my excitement with this new site is that I will be placing monkees in the Wild.  Meaning, I’ll be hiding some of my monkee beads around the village I live in – each one will have a little card attached directing people to the new site.  I think I’d be pretty happy if I found a treasure while I was out walking, so hopefully anyone who finds one will be too. This idea wouldn’t work everywhere, but I happen to live – you guessed it – in Merrickville, Ontario.  Merrickville has been called the ‘Jewel of the Rideau’ and over the last  several years has become a hot spot for tourists.  Lots of gifty/crafty/artsy stores combined with the Rideau Canal that cuts through the village make for a wonderful destination. For better or worse I chose today to place some monkees in the Wild.  I headed out the door and down town.  The sky looked a bit ominous but I wasn’t worried, I wasn’t going far. I confess it was the strangest feeling, knowing I was on a secret mission and at the same time feeling very obvious. As I passed through the park by the Canal I was scouting out good hidey spots, but not really plucking up courage to HIDE anything in case someone saw me doing it and I got fined for littering or something worse!  I had a spot in mind and proceded on to it. I reached into my pocket and pulled the first monkee out – Oh Good!  It was Captain Courageous!  What a perfect way to start! As I drew close to the hiding spot I felt a few drops of rain. As I grew closer I realised it wasn’t rain but hail. By the time I reached the hidey place it was beating hard hail on me and Captain Courageous! I admit I felt awfully guilty hanging him up in the wind and hail all on his own!  It felt a bit like leaving one of my children  out at night for the wolves to devour! (not that I EVER did that!). POOR CAPTAIN COURAGEOUS!! There he hung, battered by wind and hail looking oh so lonely.  I wished him well, wiped a tear from eye and turned my back on him, feeling like a most horrible traitor! By this time the hail was pelting my hands and face and really starting to sting!  There was no way I could hide more monkees in this weather. Deserving of a reward, or something to deaden the guilty feeling I had, I stopped by the chip wagon for a treat.  It was still raining/hailing but not quite so heavily by this point, so I tucked the box of fries in my coat and hurried home. I climbed over slippery mountains of hail and waded through rivers of the stuff before I reached the house – it’s true!! That’s Raff’s office in the background and his little chair where he spies on the world. Brrrr…. hard to imagine it’s June 1st tomorrow! Wet and guilty I sat down to a dish of Salted and Malted Captain Courageous if you can hear me, it’s all for a good cause – really!  I’ll check on you in a day or two!  I AM sorry, but it did seem like an awfully good idea at the time!