Monkey See

May 17, 2009

While in line with my then 8-month-old son at a Starbucks near Harvard Square, I pointed to a stuffed animal on the counter, saying, "Look! A teddy bear." My son looked at the bear. Behind me was a man with the disheveled appearance of a grad student. "You know, that's one of the important differences between humans and other primates," he said. "When you point, a monkey will look at your finger, but a child will look where you're pointing." After that, my kids enjoyed testing the theory on the cat.

H. Solorzano / Cambridge

What a Hoot On my way home from Kingston, I noticed an owl sitting at Exit 6 off Route 3. I went to the police station to report it. "Yep, we've already gotten a call and will send animal control over," said the officer. I added that a week earlier I'd come upon a deer struck at the same spot. "The animals have to stop using that exit," he said.

Sarah Barnicle / Plymouth