How Much is that Monkey in the Window?

....... the one with the insulated ski jacket.

Little Cheetah looks out forlornly at the passing shoppers, contemplating his destiny.

Restricted and smothered, a mere shadow of his former self.

Once, swinging recklessly through the trees high above the jungle floor, careless and freewheeling.

Now a pitiful spectacle to be gawked at by mindless half-witted sheep looking for bargains amongst the shrink-wrapped tedium of strip mall purgatory.

Snug and warm in his insulated vesture, sheltered and well-fed, yet yearning to be free.

We are that monkey in the window, constricted by the trappings of modern life, with its false security and conformity, yet singularly miserable and without purpose.