I wanted to be a gibbon not a monkey

In junior high I was on our schools gymnastic team. I was already heading to six feet, no height for a gymnast, but I loved to spin and tumble.

The Parade magazine of that era had a “personality test” which consisted of about 25 pictures of animals a participant could choose from to explain what kind of personality you had. I chose a gibbon because of its graceful acrobatics. Damned test results said I wanted to be a “monkey” meaning a cut-up and be a joker. Dimwits didn’t know the difference between the primates. I would not have chosen to be a monkey.

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