Me and My Monkey

Yes, that's me in Janice Cox's Bridge City FEMA trailer (again) with Mickey the Monkey (again) who I seriously can NOT get enough of.

Last time I saw Mickey, he was somewhat averse to me, until I plied him with my charming wit, a bottomless cup of grape juice, and the promise to lobby the government for a bailout of the banana industry.

However, as you can see, things were different on this visit and he was much friendlier, even though his wide-eyed stare in this picture looks like he's thinking, "What is this oafish creature, and why is he so happy to be pointing at me?"

I went back to Bridge City this week to check on the progress of some families hit pretty hard by Hurricane Ike and saw that things are improving, but at a very slow pace.

Many are trying to make the best of things during the holidays by decorating their FEMA trailers and spending as much time with loved ones as possible, but it still pretty rough. Even Mickey is having a tough time and, according to Cox, doesn't like staying inside when the weather gets too cold for him.

When I asked if Mickey was housebroken, Cox just laughed and said, "I don't even want to go there!"