Hungry Jack

Rooster and I have different taste in art. I like posters that showcase 20 kinds of mushrooms or water colors painted by my mother. Rooster likes Japanese stone monkey statues. He has one particular stone monkey in mind. The monkey's name is Jack.

Jack used to live in the courtyard at an Asian art gallery around the corner from our house. Whenever we walked down the street, Rooster would insist that we pause at The Red Pagoda to say hello to Jack. He would rub Jack's bald stone head and if the double gate guarding the courtyard was closed, he'd press his nose to it and call out to Jack, promising that we'd buy him as soon as we had some extra cash. $5000 extra, to be exact.

Last weekend Jack dissapeared. Horrified, Rooster stormed the gallery's inner sanctum. He and the proprietor circled the store looking for Jack. They found four other monkey statues, but none had the same psychotic grin and barred square teeth that Jack did. Rooster asked if they had a record of who bought Jack. The proprietor said Jack had probably been transferred to their other store in the suburbs. She opened a book of photographs and Rooster paged through them looking for Jack, a hunched, basketball-sized gray monkey perched on a 3-foot tall pedestal. Perky ears. A nut of some sort in his paws.

"That's the one!" said Rooster, and pointed to the sixth in a portrait series of stone monkeys. The proprietor said that Jack had indeed been transferred. He was only 40 miles away and still available for purchase.

Rooster came home with light in his eyes. "Jack doesn't belong in the suburbs, he belongs with us," he told me. "Where would we put him?" I asked. I figured the 'how will we afford him' question was just too cruel. "We could put him in the kitchen," said Rooster, and eagerly pointed to our last empty corner of apartment floor space.

Well Rooster, this next contest is for you. If you win $25,000 for kitchen renovations, you can have your monkey.

The Rules: Create an original essay of 25-100 words in English explaining why your family is a Hungry Jack family.

The Prize: One (1) Grand Prize: a Kitchen Makeover in the form of a check for $25,000.00. Fifty (50) First Prizes: a Griddle Pan. ARV: $100.00, each. One hundred (100) Second Prizes: a Casserole Set. ARV: $60.00, each.

Rooster's Entry:

Both my grandfathers were named Jack and both were notorious for their hearty appetites. When I was a kid, my mom served Hungry Jack on a regular basis-- she always said that Hungry Jack was the only thing that could fill the Jacks' bottomless stomachs. Today I’m married and my grandfathers have passed on, but I inherited their appetite…and their good taste in food. Whether its chipotle peppers blended with Hungry Jack mashed potatoes or chocolate chips and raisins folded into “Trail Mix” pancakes, my hungry Jack grandfathers would be proud of their grandson. Hungry Jack, it’s a family tradition.