Next day right after church, Cotton, Lenora and I began in earnest our plan to capture Mickey.

"I've got it!" I announced. "If you're goin' fishing you need the right bait. And the right bait for a monkey is..."

"Bananas!" Lenora called out.

"Bingo," I answered. "The way I figure all we gotta do is collect up lots of bananas and we'll nail that little rascal sure as the world."

The pair agreed I was on to something. Cotton's father had a cage used for tracking raccoons and possums and so he was dispatched to get it. Lenora and I went to Wilson's Market and checked on the bananas. There were four large bunches and the whole mess of them cost seventy cents. It was quite an investment but as they say, it takes money to make money so we coughed it up fifty-fifty. Since Cotton was contributing the trap we figured we were all equal partners in the venture.

We had agreed to meet back at the Esso Station on Central Avenue. Of course who should we pass but Ezra Anderson. He wasn't drunk this time, even tipped his hat and called us by name.

"Miss Lenora, Ray Daniel, Mister Cotton, are you three enjoying this beautiful day?" he asked.

"We are, Mister Anderson," Lenora answered.

"Please, call me Ezra. Mister Anderson makes me feel so old."

"But you are old," Cotton blurted out.

"I am indeed, Mister Cotton. Touché for the gentle reminder. The constant aches, pains and maladies of body and soul apparently are not daily reminder enough. But tell me, what age are the three of you?"

"Ten," I answered. "We're all ten."

"Ten," he said wistfully. "That's the golden age. Before things get complicated. The pinnacle of existence if I can say so, myself. Enjoy this summer children. Ten. That's as good as it's gonna get. Remember when you're old as me that I told you so."

"Right," Cotton answered. "Thank you, Mister Ezra. Excuse us but we've got some chores to attend to."

"Go right ahead. And enjoy," he said with a hearty laugh. It doesn't get better than ten."

"Screwy old man," Cotton whispered.

"My mom says he's the poet lariat for the town," Lenora said. "Says he has a gift for oratory and the vocal arts."

"I don't know what he is but let's get a move on," Cotton said and then lowered his voice to a whisper. In a code he felt clever enough to keep Ezra from catching on, Cotton spelled out the mission, "We've got to catch a m-o-n-k-y."

Lenora shook her head. "It's spelled with an 'e' in it.

"M-e-n-k-y? You sure?"

"Lord, Cotton, hush up," I said, "let's just get out to the woods before these bananas get any riper."

Cotton wanted to argue about the spelling but we ignored him and left town, pronto. Within a half mile we were in the woods where we'd last seen the varmint. We set the trap, put the bananas in and covered the whole thing with brush to make it look all natural-like. The camouflage was perfect. And what self-respecting monkey could do without feasting on those fine, ripening bananas? Then we retired to a respectable distance to watch the episode unfold to its logical conclusion. We sat quietly in the grass behind a rock wall, our eyes intent on our would-be prey. But as the day wore on we grew weary of the tedium. Eventually the conversation shifted to other things as we occasionally peeked over the wall to see if Mickey had taken the bait.

"I heard on the radio Amelia's gonna fly around the world starting next month," I said.

"I heard that too," Lenora offered. "She's the bravest woman ever was."

"She ain't so brave," Cotton interjected. "She's gonna have a man on board the whole time telling her which way to go."

"But she's doing the flying," I said defending her. "She is brave."

"And pretty," Lenora said.

"She ain't bad," Cotton agreed. "But I think she's crazier than she is brave. Lucky Lindy was the real pioneer. You named your dog after him."

"I did. And it's a good name," I said. "But I don't care what you say. I'll be following her trip. And that Electra is one of the finest planes ever built. She's gonna make it."

"We'll see," Cotton said.

We sat awhile watching the clouds. They were big and fluffy and putting themselves into all kinds of recognizable shapes. It was a pretty day and the sky was dark blue, setting off Lenora's eyes which were the color of a robin's egg. She was so pretty that even back then it was hard sometimes not to get lost in them.

Eventually it got late and there was still no sign of Mickey. 'Mickey the menkey' is what Lenora and I started calling him to Cotton. He didn't like the ribbing one bit. The three of us walked back and found the whole town up in arms. There was a giant bonfire in the town square, an event usually reserved for Halloween, big political events or when evangelists passed through and provoked the living righteousness out of the townsfolk.

© RDBrooks 2015

Cover art painting by William Skilling (1892-1964)