Monkey Island!

My friend, Bryan Davidson, is playwright in residence at the William Inge Festival in Independence, Kansas. He’s been sending out regular updates on his stay in this small, unassuming town which just happens to be home to Monkey Island.

He writes:
Yes, Independence is famous for being the birthplace of playwright William Inge. But how many of us knew that it was also the home of Miss Able, the First Monkey in Space?

Miss Able was born on Monkey Island. Monkey Island was built in 1932 as part of the Independence Zoo, and included a castle, a main street with storefronts, and (yes, really) a jail. The very informative sign did not discuss the criteria or process by which monkeys were sent to jail. It did say how Miss Able was put into the tip of a Jupiter rocket and shot into space.

I am very worried about how monkeys will survive on Monkey Island in Kansas' winter cold. But I guess if hey can survive in outer space... right?

Today, the jail and main street are gone. All that remains is the crumbling castle, a sad remnant of Monkey Island's glory days. It is a metaphor for the town in general, in its decline from oil production center to struggling Main Street, USA.

But it is still an amusing attraction.

For an informative slide show about Monkey Island, go to:
http://www.forpaz.com/monkeyisle.htm

More on Bryan’s work and Monkey Island, his new obsession, here:
http://home.earthlink.net/~amynbryan/updatesfromindependence/