The Real Leader Of North Miami ~ And His Bodyguard ~ Mad As Hell

Monkey and I were mad as hell a few days back. The phone, one call after another, had awakened us before the usual get out of bed time by people asking "Did you see the new AT&T commercial? They're ripping off your going around town and photographing a toy monkey idea!" or variations of that. "No, we hadn't" I replied. We rarely watch TV. I turned on the computer and brushed my teeth while the coffee perked and the computer went through its ritual. After pouring some coffee I started reading emails. The in box was overloaded with messages about the AT&T commercials.

I think that Monkette was at first feeling flattered by her new found fame because the monkey in the commercial looked like she could be her twin sister, but Monkey soon had her deep in a discussion about things like intellectual property, appearance fees, residuals, and so on, which got her so upset and into a tizzy that she decided to just stay home and calm down as Monkey and I hit the streets.

Everywhere we went people, some I barely know, wanted to talk about AT&T ripping off the idea, although a few actually thought that we'd cut a deal with AT&T, and they wanted to know if a personal appearance tour was in the works. Monkey and I did the tour of North Miami. First stop was The Greater North Miami Chamber of Commerce. They knew about the commercials! Monkey got madder and madder. See the look in his eyes in this photo of us leaving the Chamber of Commerce office? Next stop the post office. Same thing! The counter clerks had seen the commercials. So had some of their customers. Off to Starbucks for a relaxing cup of coffee. The baristas all knew, as had a lot of the customers. Meanwhile the phone kept ringing. More calls! When we got back to the house the email box was full again and Monkette was in tears. It had finally hit her, how her persona had been stolen from her, and how her life would never again be the same.

What we haven't as yet done is sign with an attorney. We've been checking around, entertaining proposals, and if you are a lawyer with experience in this area of the law feel free to send us an email. It'll probably be another week or so before any final decision is made.