According to Hofmann: An honest self-assessment
There are points in a personĢƵ life where they have to stop what they’re doing and perform a self-assessment of their current situation.
ItĢƵ a vital step to see where you are in your life and what life choices brought you to that particular point. ItĢƵ a realignment of oneĢƵ point of view to offer a new and different perspective as a benefit to their current and future mental wellbeing.
ThatĢƵ what I was hoping a Marvin Gaye impersonator and British zookeepers would have done after I had read a story about a zoo having the impersonator croon love songs to the zooĢƵ habitat of monkeys.
According to the UK Daily Mail, staff at the Trentham Monkey Forest in Stafford invited singer Dave Largie to perform late soul legend Marvin GayeĢƵ songs to a habitat of Barbary macaques.
GayeĢƵ velvet-smooth chart toppers include “LetĢƵ Get it On,” “Sexual Healing,” “Come Get to This” and “The Main Theme to ‘Trouble Man'” (that one was requested by the Armadillo habitat next door, for some reason).
The idea was to get the female Barbary macaques in the mood and show some affection toward the males.
That being said, I can’t help but to wonder if the impersonator conducted a self-assessment of his life while belting out a rendition of “Mercy Mercy Me.”
I’ve been a Marvin Gaye impersonator for 23 years. I know all the songs, I got the voice down, got the look down, got the moves down – I got the soul down! Yet, here I am, singing to a bunch of apes to mate in captivity. I should have been a plumber, but I just had to be in the spotlight, didn’t I? I should have at least been paid for this gig.
I imagine he would also be hoping that the monkeys like the performance because getting drinks and napkins thrown at you in a nightclub is nothing compared to what an agitated monkey would throw.
The zookeeper could have had a similar reflection on life decisions.
Six years of hard studying to earn my bachelorĢƵ in zoology, interning at some of the biggest zoos in England and working my way up the ladder here, and what do I do with all that knowledge of the animal kingdom? I have someone singing to animals! Oh well, at least we’re not paying for this.
Also, somewhere in the realm of the Great Beyond, I’m sure the spirit of Marvin Gaye himself was looking at what happened and had some thoughts of his own.
Oh, no…no…no, no, no, no, no, nooooooo!
I can make fun of this situation all day long, but I have to say that at least some thought went into the zoo-lovin’ experiment.
For example, Marvin GayeĢƵ “LetĢƵ Get it On” is the international musical sign (or notes) that things are going to get hot and heavy. Why the song is used in mainstream commercials for peanut-butter cups and auto insurance is beyond me. Sometimes I wonder if I have to have children shield their eyes from the TV screen.
Sure, I think having an impersonator coming in is taking it a bit too far, but if they would have had a Twisted Sister tribute band come in and sing “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” you’d have an animal mutiny on your hands. I think thatĢƵ how the monkeys evolved from man in the “Planet of the Apes” movies.
A nice addition to the story is the fact that the Barbary macaques are considered an endangered species, and following the performance, the article reports that keepers at the zoo said they witnessed some “lovey dovey” action with the macaques.
The article goes on to state that zookeepers expect to discover whether the visit had any effect on the monkeys when birthing season arrives in late spring or early summer.
That being said, perhaps the thoughts and self-assessment going through the heads of those involved can be more of a remarkable pride in the accomplishment of assisting in the ongoing survival of a species.
On the other hand (or monkeyĢƵ paw, in this case) if Earth becomes a planet where apes evolve from man because of this meddling with nature, then they should very well be ashamed.
According to Hofmann is written by staff reporter Mark Hofmann of Rostraver Township. His books, “Good Mourning! A Guide to Biting the Big One … and Dying, Too” and “Stupid Brain,” are available on Amazon.com.