Dear Roger:The Monkey Is Loved

The summer is winding down and the school year is approaching. While I am looking forward to it with some joy because I think we all need a bit of a break from each other, I am also looking at it with a bit of trepidation. I am worried about my little girl going back to school because her last experience wasn't the greatest and in all honesty, she hasnt changed that much from the kid that she was when she was there the last time.
Her teacher is an unknown quantity because the teacher she went and met and was thrilled with, just sent us a letter letting us know she got transferred and we will be getting a new teacher who has only taught lower grades and said nothing in her introduction letter about having any experience dealing with artsy, gifted, high tone, kids like my daughter. The other teacher is not an option at all because frankly she is just a hateful heifer that I have yet to hear a single positive thing about.She just about succeeded in making Stubby hate school altogether, and there is no way in hell I am letting her get my daughter.
Stevie really wants to go back to school, she has missed her friends and she has missed music and art and the opportunity to participate in talent shows and plays and things like that. She has already laid out her first day of school wardrobe and its colorful to say the least with her high boots, multi-colored, mis-matched socks, her black punk rocker pants with the plaid skirt attachment, her new 100 Monkeys t-shirt, her technicolor scarf, and her red beret. I drew the line at her drawing tattoos on herself and she has mentioned more and more piercing her ears though she usually chickens out before we get there, she has drawn tattoos on herself on more than a few occasions and her jewelry selections are a very interesting array to say the least. The one part of her array that I had hoped would have changed, the one thing that is sure to make her stand out and get negative attention from any potential bullies, is something she wont budge on either.
I gently suggested she leave Jackson at home with me this year and you would have thought that I told her she could no longer like the real thing. Her face fell, and her entire demeanor changed. "Mom, he needs me! He will be scared and lonely and what if some mean monkeys came by the house while I was gone? Who is going to protect him? You will be at work and not able to take care of him, so he has to go with me, im his protector, I promised to keep him safe!"
I got the message. She still needs him. Maybe after she gets settled into the routine and we see how this year is going to go, maybe she will let him stay home, but if not, then we will just handle it. Hes been her constant companion for over two years, he still goes with her everywhere and is her partner in crime, so I guess I will just prepare to write my "Permission slips" for Jackson and Stevie to be together and hope that the bullies leave her alone and her friends who were so glad to see her when we visited at the end of this last year, will rally around her and let her know that things will be okay enough for him to stay home.
Lots of things have been going good here. My job is going great and I am staying busy. Its been a long and kind of dull summer otherwise, and we have mourned the loss of the bright spot that used to see us through, but our friends we made at those wonderful concerts have stayed in touch and reunions are planned and who knows? maybe 5, 10 and 20 years down the road there will be 100 Monkeys fan gatherings were those who are still alive and kicking can get together and share a toast to gratitude and remember that once there was a band...
Still no car here, I chickened out on buying one because its just soo dang much money and I really don't want to get that invested in some material object that will end up making me its slave. I might if I find a great deal with a low, low payment, but I refuse to sink myself into something that is going to make me dread life. I tried to soothe Chance by getting him a flatscreen tv, we will see how long that lasts.
My big frustration this month has been dealing with the cable company. It seems like they are just trying to thwart me and piss me off and I really don't know why I haven't given up on them and just ordered satellite internet, but I hate to give up on something I already have and everyone I talk to have been so damn nice its hard to quit them. Maybe ill get lucky and get a jerk the next time I call and then I will have a good excuse to just tell them to pound sand, instead of getting a nice sounding man who offers me a free dedicated Ethernet port and credits for a couple months of higher speed internet,(he might as well have offered me dinner out and fantastic sex, it had the same effect), my mind went to mush and I said,"Okay, thank you!" We will see if he delivers, being it was a man who offered it,(much like when a man promises great sex), I am skeptical.