The Most Unlikely, Unexpected, and Unanticipated Meeting of Two Identical Monkeys
Quite literally, what are the chances? Any mathematicians wanna help?
Double preface for a blog post? Wacky! I’m adding this in support of writers on strike. As this is a independent blog, I’m not a Hollywood writer, I have an audience of maybe 50 (on a good day) and I don’t answer to any big ole honkin’ execs, I shall continue my bimonthly writing. To read up about the cause of the strikers, a great post from another Substack writer, Max Read, can be found here.
I’ve waited a while to write this one for a few reasons. One, I needed picture evidence, and two, I needed to feel the right time for this one. Now is the time. Tokyo was the place. This is the story of the most unlikely meeting to ever grace the world of Beanie Babies.
During my first week in Japan, I hit a few popular landmarks, the Tokyo Skytree being one of them. Coming from Oklahoma, the tallest skyscraper (“skyscraper”) we have is the Devon Tower. Not that it’s completely underwhelming, but our skyline has a ways to go before it can rival anything close to a big city. Given that, the perspective from tall buildings has always fascinated me. The Skytree was an easy choice for my limited time in Tokyo.
The process of getting up the tower was relatively straightforward once I was inside. Check in with your ticket, get in line, and go up a big ole elevator with a whole bunch of other people. I tried timing my visit the best I could, right before dusk. This way, I could get pictures of both the sunset and the skyline during the night. That was the plan at least. The hazy horizon had other plans for me. Still, it really truly was breathtaking.
After moseying around for a while and taking pictures with my camera (would have been silly of me to not bring it), I realized that not only was there a higher observation deck a little ways up the tower, but it was only ¥1000 yen (around $7.48 USD) for a ticket up. Another obvious choice.
Once I was up on the higher deck, the sun was beginning to set. There were just as many people on this level, probably around 100 or so, but there was enough room to where it didn’t feel too cramped. Just had to wait for a good place in front of the windows if you wanted an unobstructed view. I snapped many a picture. The skyline was immaculate.
I probably spent about 2 and a half hours on the observation decks. What the travel blogs don’t tell you is that you can literally stay up there for as long as you want until they close. No one polices the time you spend in the tower, and I was gonna get my money’s worth.
On the top deck there was a little mirror room with a light up floor (see the very colorful pictures above). I’m often shy to ask others to take pictures of me, so the room was a perfect chance to get some self portraits.
As I waited in line, fate awoke from its slumber. It decided that day would change my life, forever. The conduit for this change? Mayhap you could guess from the title of this post.
A few spots away from accessing the mirror room, an older gentleman approached me without saying a word. He only held out his hand to show me a certain small stuffed brown monkey, a very specific Beanie Baby, that just so happened to be identical to one of my own.
I don’t know how many Bongos there are left in the world. But in that moment, I was completely positive that two of them were meeting face to face, 450 meters above the sea of buildings that is the city of Tokyo.
For those unaware, I have been carrying around two stuffed monkeys with me, Mooch and Bongo, almost everywhere I go. Those are their government (Beanie Baby officially endowed) names. For more visual information, see Mooch’s Instagram account by scanning the QR code below, or by searching for @monky_mooch (heads up, there are many of Mooch’s brothers/cousins on Instagram. The spelling of the account name is imperative.)
Upon seeing the creature in his hand, all I could muster was a bizarre laugh of disbelief. At first, I didn’t recognize the monkey as another Bongo Beanie Baby. The differences were minimal, as could be expected by some differences in manufacturing. But it was. Another Bongo, somehow, made his way to the top of the Tokyo Skytree.
After my laugh subsided, I chatted with the man holding the monkey, Nick, along with his son, Will. Their story wasn’t too far from mine. If I remember correctly, he said his son had received “Moonkey” (the name for their Bongo) from a family friend who had visited America. The two of them were from the UK, and they were ripe in the middle of a world tour. They’d been to Bangkok, Manila, and Bali already, and Tokyo was their next stop. They brought Moonkey as their travel companion, just like I’d done with Mooch and Bongo. They just so happened to have visited the Tokyo Skytree at the same time as myself.
We chatted a bit more about our monkeys, our trips, hometowns, then eventually lined up for a picture. I don’t know if anyone would believe me if we hadn’t otherwise. I don’t think I’d believe my own memory if I hadn’t either.
I was so incredibly amused to know that their monkey also had an Instagram account, linked here. I very much encourage all to follow their monkey account.
After a few more remarks of surprise and gratitude, we parted ways.
The rest of my time in the Skytree was in a state of disbelief. Had that really happened? I mean, my friends make (loving) jokes as it is about me carrying around monkeys and how I say that Mooch runs his own Instagram account (he does). But what had just happened? How is it that anyone else would bring a monkey along with them on their trip, happened to have been in Tokyo, decided to go to the Skytree at night, and go up to the second observation deck? Then somehow spot Bongo too?
If anything, it told me that maybe, just maybe, there are more Bongos and Mooches out there, traveling the world, making their own great memories with their caretakers, seeing the world through their loved-on glass bead eyes. People see them and they smile. Such funny little guys, those monkeys are.
To all the Mooches and Bongoes and Moonkeys of the world, I send all my love.
Clipper Mist, out.