“Kiss the Sock Monkey!”

“Kiss the Sock Monkey!”

I don’t remember when I first saw or owned a Sock Monkey but I do remember playing with one sometime in the late 1950’s. There was something special about these funny monkeys, maybe in part trying to figure out how they were made from a sock and being such great playmates or bedmates. Since there were six kids in our family I’m not sure who owned the Sock Monkey, but it soon became community property. I really loved the Sock Monkey & enjoyed flinging him up in the air & catching him.

A favorite trick that was pulled on any unsuspecting victim was to ask them to kiss the monkey. In this case since the mouth & the bottom of the monkey looked much the same with a big red slash, all it took was a quick flip & up with the tail just as one someone leaned in for the kiss. My sister Shannon, the youngest child, made the easiest prey in this silly game.

Sometime in the early 1970’s I made a Sock Monkey for Kristy, my oldest daughter. Using the pattern that came with a package of socks, I followed the instructions very carefully. In my eyes the monkey turned out really well with long slender arms & tail, just right for hanging off trees. Kristy played with it often. She could be seen walking down the street with the monkey twirling around her head or swinging it as if the tail was a leash. The monkey made several trips to the “toy hospital” to have holes and worn spots repaired.

My youngest daughter, Nikki, never got a personally home-made Sock Monkey but I later found one at a garage sale for her. Maybe because by this time there were so many stuffed animals in every store Nikki never thought her monkey as anything special. My sister Shannon wasn’t the only one to get the butt end of the monkey joke, because of course, I pulled it on my daughters as well. They’d giggle and beg for more silliness. “Do it again, mommy!”

Shortly after Kristy married, an F5 tornado ripped through our town tearing up her home. Much to my amazement, out of the handful of items saved, was her Sock Monkey. It was found wound through the chain link fence a couple blocks away. Her husband’s Sock Monkey was also recovered from the debris. Yes, Bill’s mom, Karol Duggan had made him one when he was a child. The funny thing is that two mom’s using probably the same pattern could come up with two Sock Monkeys looking so different. Karol had stuffed the monkey she made with extra filling, making the one I made in comparison look thin as a rail.

This year my daughter made Sock Monkeys for her 5 year old twins and another for her 11 year old nephew, who collects monkeys. Also a good friend of mine has a 1 ½ year old grand-daughter, who carries her sock monkey with her everywhere. But her Sock Monkey doesn’t have the red bottom. You’ll be glad to hear I’ve reframed from pulling the kiss the monkey joke on her, no matter how tempting. Don’t think this old grandma has gone soft I figure my grand-kids are still fair game for a one time joke of “Kiss the Sock Monkey.” After helping me out on a project I gave my friend a keychain with a miniature Sock Monkey on it. Her grand-daughter noticed it right away and responded with, “Baby Monkey!”

Recently my mother shared an article clipped out of Capper’s Magazine that quickly brought back these fond memories of the Sock Monkey. The article was written by Dee Lindner, also known as The Sock Monkey Lady.
She invites you to explore her web site http://www.sockmonkeylady.com or share your Sock Monkey story with her at: sockmonkeylady@cheqnet.net

For instructions for making your own Sock Monkey: http://lennytaylor.freeyellow.com/Monkey.htm

http://www.illinoistimes.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A4578

Story ID:	2285
Written by:	Cynthia Jo Ross (bio, contact, other stories)
Organization:	Lens to the Past
Story type:	Family Memories
Writers Conference:	$500 2007 Family Memories Writing Project
Location:	Towanda Kansas USA
Year:	2007
Person:	Cynthia Ross