Beany Brain: loving our jumping-bean brains!

Welcome to this issue of the Beany Brain! I hope today’s newsletter will bounce us up as we contemplate the upsides and challenges of being neurodivergent, a little beauty, some creativity, and just general yeehawesomeness.

Table of Contents

• Beany Brain: loving our jumping-bean brains!

  • Welcome to this issue of the Beany Brain! I hope t …

• Mr. Monk

  • What Dan Read

    • Yeehawesome!

  • Wonderful Wednesday

  • Today’s Beany-full Summary:

Mr. Monk

I was so sad that I hadn’t been able to watch “Monk” reruns in a while. We can’t access that on our Netflix in Japan.

But yeehawesomely, the UK Netflix had a movie called “Mr. Monk’s Final Case” and I’ve watched it twice already (apparently it’s on Peacock in the US).

Have you seen Monk?

If you haven’t, look it up.

Adrian Monk is a detective consultant for the police, and he has special giftings (and challenges) that make him perfect for the job: Adrian has OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder).

As you can imagine, his OCD helps him solve almost impossible cases that have been in the “freezer” (aka file cabinet down at the police precinct), and it also causes great strain within himself and in his relationships with others.

(I’ll try not to give you any spoilers, but I will share a content warning: the movie delves into the subject of suicide.)

There are some crossovers between OCD and autism. Psychiatry UK says that people in both camps tend to focus on repetitive behaviors. However:

There are even some overlaps between OCD and ADHD, but we need to be aware that:

Going back to Mr. Monk, his OCD behaviors seem to bring relief and also some emotional distress. I appreciate how the show writers portray him as extremely intelligent and sharp and also that he realizes he needs a support network.

When I get down to it, I think I’m the same:

Creative. Intelligent. Hardworking.

And I realize my need for a support network.

(Also that I am part of others’ support networks.)

It takes a village.

I just wish this film wasn’t the “last” Monk movie. Me need more Monk.

What Dan Read

I never met Dan Pelzer.

But I was so taken with his story that was shared by the Columbus Metropolitan Library:

Please do go to what-dan-read.com. It’s beautiful, written in his own hand or typed: a reading log that he meticulously kept starting in 1962 when he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal as a young man. Flip to the final page for a lovely photo of him and his final books from 2023.

There’s also a bio at the beginning with more details of his lovely life. In addition to being a bibliophile, Dan was a volunteer, feeding hungry folks and working at the YMCA in his later years.

Sometimes I think I need to put the English books down and study more Japanese kanji characters—I could do with more of that. That is a goal.

And also…

I just wanna be more like Dan.

If you want to see my book list, go to Goodreads and friend me: Abigail Munday.

Yeehawesome!

Yeehawesome! is a happy-brain roundup in each issue of Beany Brain. What’s happening that’s good in brain land? What’s bringing me joy?

1. An autistic toddler eloped during church and this was the pastor’s response. So heavenly. (“Eloped” in this case means an autistic child running away from the safety of a caregiver or parent. It’s extremely scary for the adult, and maybe for the child too!)

2. My in-laws recently had a date at The Mill at Sonning, which happens to also be the place where Stephen and I told them about our engagement in 2000! The Mill at Sonning is a lovely local-ish dinner theater, and when I was looking through the brochure that they brought back the other day, I saw this photo of Dame Judi Dench signing caricatures of herself (drawn by Clive Francis) that she and Clive Francis have donated to raise money for The Mill. Anyhoo, the photo made me smile, and not just because I love Dame Judi. I’ve circled some reality: a lamp cord and a box of tissues. Proving that even icons are real live people with real live needs.

3. Bittersweet yeehawesome: I’ve loved my shiny aqua raincoat with the fantastic snaps since I bought it in Seattle (gosh, probably 14 years or so ago). Anyway, you can’t see it in the photos, but the raincoat developed cracks and looked unsightly in some places. I therefore sent it to the Happy Hunting Grounds (aka the rubbish bin in Marlow), but not before I bought myself a new-to-me bold flowery royal blue raincoat at the British Heart Foundation charity shop here in Marlow. It’s lovely and looks like it was never worn at all. Their loss, my yeehawesome gain. But yes, bittersweet to say goodbye to Aqua. I’m sure you’ll see me in the flowered one soon…and in the meantime, some photos in memoriam.

Beany Brownie Points and Extra Bonus Funniness

Wonderful Wednesday

Wonderful Wednesday was a day once a year in college when they would suddenly and surprisingly call off all classes and we’d play all day. The cafeteria provided special fun food and we’d do stuff outside like slip ‘n slides and jello wrestling in sumo suits. This segment of Beany Brain is dedicated to that memory of silliness and fun—no words, just a photo from the week that I’ve taken or found that reminds me to let the joy in. Since Beany Brain is published on Wednesday every week (at least, Wednesday in Japan), I hope you enjoy this Wonderful Wednesday.

Today’s Beany-full Summary:

• I loved the Monk movie from 2023: Mr. Monk’s Last Case. I heartily recommend it (with the caveat that it brings up the subject of suicide).

• Dan Pelzer left a legacy of a list of books he read from his young adulthood in 1962 up to 2023. He just passed away, and you can see the list and a bio here: what-dan-read.com.

• Go forth in Beany joy. What will help you feel yeehawesome this week?

Thank you for reading this installment of Beany Brain! You’re very welcome to hop on by any old time.

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