We've all seen the video or read the articles.  Perhaps it was in Psychology 101 or on the learning channel, but we all know about the chimpanzee who was locked in a cage with a chair, a stick and a banana on the ceiling.  He tries to jump high enough to grab it, but isn't able to get it.  Then the chimp notices the chair, drags it over, and tries to jump from there to reach the snack.  Still no luck.  Finally, the stick catches his eye.  He brings the stick to the chair, stands on the chair and knocks the banana down and enjoys the tasty treat.

Last weekend I was doing yard work.  We have an crab apple tree, and this time of year the apples drop.  I went out to pick them up before they start to rot.  At first, I was on my hands and knees scooping them into a large lawn trash bag.  Then it occurred to me that I had an empty trashcan that I could secure the bag to in order to keep it flopping shut.  A few minutes later, I realized that I had a rake in my shed.  I retrieved it, and set back to work on the apples. 

But I was still picking them up by hand and placing them in the trash.  It was then I remembered that I had a snow shovel, so I trekked back to the shed.  After this revelation, the job went very quickly.

But I imagined my neighbors watching me as I slowly processed how best to get the task done.  If they were watching, no doubt they thought, the monkey has finally retrieved the banana.