What is Monkey River Town?

In the Fall of 2000, hurricane Keith threatened a town in Belize called Monkey River Town. I don't know how much of a threat the hurricane actually was to Monkey River Town or if it caused any real damage.

I have since learned that Monkey River Town is a small tropical paradise in Central America (check out the Links section for more on Belize).

When the hurricane hit, Cory Q heard it on the news and called me to tell me there was a place called Monkey River Town. We had a good laugh - I could not have come up with a better name for a tropical paradise if I tried.

We asked ourselves, who in the world would name their town Monkey River Town? Better yet, the name implied that there was a Monkey River; which in turn conjured up the image of a river of monkeys, flowing past a small village. Pretty funny when you think about it.

Of course it could be that not everyone finds monkeys as amusing as we do - there is a certain amount of ridiculousness to the somewhat childish humor involved ... but here we are regardless.

I have never been to the real Monkey River Town, but I'm guessing the river does not actually flow thick with monkeys. I do imagine that there are, or were at one time, monkeys everywhere - why else would you name a river AND a town after them?

The "joke" surrounding MRT is nothing more than me and my friends and coworkers thinking Monkey River Town sounded kind of funny. And it does. It sounds like a fictional wonderland to me. We mean no disrespect to the real Monkey River Town and I, for one, would love to visit some day.

The hurricane was not the only disaster that lead us down this path...

During the time of the hurricane my coworkers and I suffered through a period of lay-offs at our place of employment (one of many dot-coms laying people off). This hurt the established social harmony we had come to know and love. As people were leaving we vowed to keep in touch some how. It was then that I formed "Greetings from Belize: The 'Official' Monkey River Town Newsletter" for us to share our experiences and hopefully keep in touch.

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.... I purchased an express ticket long ago. In fact, that this web site has made it online, is a miracle -- I'm a procrastinator with a short attention span. The "Newsletter" soon faded and for the most part we have gone our separate ways. The hope is that this site will help keep us all together, or at least provide a way for us all the reach out and contact the others should the occasion arise. That is not, of course, our only goal, but this is the story of our origin and that had a lot to do with it.

And that's how Monkey River Town came to be. It is a web site devoted to the notion that monkeys are funny, a town and river named after them, the myriad inside jokes that float in it's waters and the friendships that have been forged along the way.

In the end, this web site is just for fun, satire, and whatever else we conjure up. In my loftier moments, I also consider it a place to exchange ideas, a place for bored workers everywhere to find a little freedom from their jobs and a chance to take part in the "global village." The future of the Internet is not in "e-comm" but in entertainment and communication... We will be part of that future.

There are a number of people who have helped to bring this site into being, they range from artists and writers to developers and web designers. There has been a lot of help and encouragement for this project. To everyone who has helped out along the way, and to those who continue to contribute, thank you. If not for the direction and contribution of you all, the site would most likely look much worse.

The current version of MRT we know and love today is the result of a group effort. I would like to esspecially James (Inichi) for his design work on the home page, but I would also really like to thank Alex (Spleenboy) for not only getting me going on the first version of MRT, but really building this version and adding the cool new functionality available on the site and on the back end. He knows a lot more web tricks than I do and much of the coolness of this site is do to his willingness to help out. And I would like to thank Christine -- she has help me through more odd problems than you know and without her help and encouragement, this site would suck.

There are many others involved, but they know who they are. The writers who add thier own perspectives and flavors to the site make MRT what it is and keep it growing and changing every day. I see this as a growing community, so I hope that is what it becomes. I hope the list of people contributing to this site grows. If you're reading this and not already part of the troop, feel free to drop me an email id you're interested.

Lastly, we are amateurs. We don't get paid, we don't make money. I'd love to turn that around someday, but for now, this is an entirely volunteer run site with a small, but dedicated group of talented people and a growing following. In time, I hope both the troop and the visitors to the site will grow. We all need a place to express oursleves. And for some, that place is Monkey River Town. Welcome.

SAH