Tag: tiki (Page 1 of 6)

See No Evil

August 16, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

“What I want, I want now,” sang out from the television as I made my way to the bar. It made sense. The right sentiment for the right time. As much as I enjoy respectful patience and longing from afar, today I have a thirst. A particular kind of thirst that requires a particular kind of satiety. This longing is an oddly welcome pain. In some strange way hunger reminds you that you are alive. So much of life slips by in a mundane, grey sort of stumble from one task to the next, that the inner grumblings, those unsatisfied pangs, are like a wake up call. Usually, you keep them quiet, pushed down, under control, not even acknowledging their existence, making a conscious choice to not speak of this, but sometimes, well, sometimes you just need to let go and give in to temptation. So with a nod to the wisdom of Oscar Wilde and his unique self help routine, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the See No Evil.

The Doctor

August 7, 2024 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Fear. That is what keeps most of us from greatness. Being scared of the consequences, what people will think, the possibility of failure, keeps us on the sidelines instead of getting out there and speaking or living our truth. It’s a shame we can’t just start in the middle sometimes, but the journey begins with that scary first step. It is like Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Still, even knowing that eternal truth, how often do we let opportunities pass us by, because, unlike Lin-Manuel, we throw away our shot? I know that I am guilty of this, in so many ways and on so many levels. You could fill the pages of many books with lists of the things I have not done, the chances I let slip by because I was too afraid to seize the moment and carpe that diem. But I am trying to do better, to be more free and to embrace the possibility that a “yes” can bring. So in the spirit of fewer regrets and swallowing some bitter pills, won’t you join me now as we stand and make The Doctor.

Follow That Black Rabbit

April 25, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I am not a huge fan of orthodoxy, at least not according to Webster. The idea of “authorized or generally accepted theory, doctrine, or practice” seems alright on paper, but in practice it feels a lot more like stagnation and acceptance for acceptance sake. Still, I had a wonderful drink in my back pocket left unused after the Easter holiday, so why not embrace orthodoxy and celebrate Orthodox Easter a week later, which kind of flies in the face of accepted theory, doctrine or practice. Life can be funny that way, so won’t you join me now as we subversively stand and make the surprisingly unorthodox Follow That Black Rabbit.

Easter Island

April 17, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

It’s gimmicky, I get that. C’mon though. How can you not kind of love a tiki drink in a chocolate bunny? Seriously, who does that? Does it even matter if it is good? On some level all you can do is sort of nod begrudgingly and make the thing, which is what I have done. So won’t you join me now and slip from the sublime to the ridiculous as we stand and make the Easter Island.

Coco No Coco

March 9, 2022 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The truth is things aren’t always going to go the way you planned. It happens all the time. We, mostly, don’t notice when they go better than expected, but when things go downhill, it can shake your faith. When that happens, all you can do is step back, take inventory and find a way to move on from that new starting point; make the best of the situation and see if, maybe, you can salvage some lemonade from all those lemons. So, in the spirit of doing the best you can with what you have, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Coco No Coco.

Headless Horseman

October 31, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Childhood fears are funny things. I am not sure we ever get over them, not completely. I’m a reasonably grown man, closing in on half a century of wanderings and I have faced and overcome many fears in my time. That’s part of growing up. The more we learn, the more we realize that the truly scary things in the world rarely go bump in the night and as a buddy likes to remind me when we are hiking in moonlit woods, “If anything out here really means you harm, you’ll probably never hear it coming.” Still, when those cold winds begin to blow rattling the dry leaves in the trees and the fire dances in the jack o’lanterns eyes, it’s funny how those old haunts can rise from their graves. So won’t you join me now as we listen to the distant clatter of hooves in the distance and we stand and make the Headless Horseman.

Dark & Smoky

October 30, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

They say the devil is in the details. He is also, apparently, on my kitchen counter. If my upbringing is to be believed, which it most assuredly, is not; the devil is everywhere, all the time. It is not always clear what he is doing. Some say he is out running or just around the corner waiting to trip you up, others claim he wants to make a deal for your soul, although this most often happens at a crossroads, allegedly. Details on whether those crossroads are metaphorical, allegorical or physical are decidedly fuzzy, although the Jackson, Mississippi Chamber of Commerce claims to have the answer and a bumper sticker to go with it. I have often heard that he’s fond of wagers and fiddle contests, but I don’t have much musical talent or a hickory stump, so I can’t confirm this for myself. The point is folks have a lot to say about the devil, but little sympathy for him. So, have some courtesy and some taste as we stand and make the devil’s own Dark and Smoky.

Imperial Bulldog

September 15, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It’s funny how regrets stick with you. I have messed up so many times in so many places that I am surprised I can even remember half of them. I am pretty good at owning my mistakes and have no trouble admitting that I have come up short as a friend and as a decent human far too many times. I’m still working on me, being better a little at a time, stepping forward when I can, learning from my mistakes. I don’t figure this makes me special, most folks are trying to be better and the rest, well, they are at least trying to get better at not getting caught, so I guess that’s something. Groups, institutions and even countries are made up of people, so logic would say that those things are trying to get better too, but I am not sure of that. Sadly, as awesome as most individuals are groups of people tend to suck. I am not sure what that says about our collective journey into the future. So, with a nod toward those better angels we keep waiting on, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Imperial Bulldog.

The Mastadon

August 25, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

“I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful one-hundred percent!” That’s why he was there, enduring hardship after hardship, while Mayzie jetted off to Palm Beach, leaving him holding the bag. Horton keeps his promise, despite ridicule, being captured and carried away, because he was being 100% faithful to a lazy bird who abandoned him and the future, embodied in an egg. Tell me that is not a story for the kids to learn from. It’s got it all, that Dr. Seuss was a clever fella. So, with a nod toward the past and an eye on the present, won’t you join me now as we stand and make The Mastadon.

Raspberry Donn Day Afternoon

August 18, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

One of the dangers of getting old is the tendency to repeat yourself, allegedly. I like to chalk it up to experience. At some point you have done so much that it all just sort of jumbles together and it’s easy too forget that this has all happened before. The upside is, you get to rediscover new things that you forgot you enjoy or hate , depending on your particular point of view. So, with a nod to a little memory remix, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Raspberry Donn Day Afternoon.