Project Description

INKTOBER 2025 Day #8: RECKLESS.

“I don’t know if any of my actions in my youth would meet the definitions of ‘reckless’, especially compared to some others, but I know I’m generally less so now. That’s kind of standard, that we become more risk-averse the older we get. Maybe it’s because we’ve lived long enough to have seen others experience consequences, maybe it’s because our brains finish developing, maybe it’s a drop of testosterone levels, or maybe it’s just an awareness that any minor injury now takes a million times longer to bounce back from.

I certainly had my reckless moments when I was younger, but I like to think I considered consequences at least occasionally. Parkour was sort of in its infancy when I was in college. I had managed to catch a video somewhere (this was before YouTube, kids) of a French free running group called Yamikaze. It was basically a group of guys running through Paris doing ‘urban gymnastics’ and being very fluid. They were also dare-devils, leaping off buildings and such. It looked incredibly fun. A friend and I started doing something similar, though less cool, on our college campus (possibly pre-dating having seen the video), which was uniquely designed for vaulting over things, climbing, etc. On numerous occasions we climbed from the first-floor atrium to the third floor in one building without using the stairs. In hindsight, lots of things could have gone wrong, but they didn’t. Parkour eventually became a worldwide phenomenon, and while I’m amazed at the grace and confidence and athleticism involved, I can’t get over the inherent risks some of the athletes take when they chuck themselves off rooftops and such. I guess I’ll have to settle for PMD living out my reckess parkour dreams now.”

Do you enjoy these silly pen and ink illustrations starring Plunger Monkey? Wish you had a whole book full of them to gaze at lovingly whenever you wanted? You’re in luck! Get a copy of Inklings to satisfy that need: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1733734716/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1AO28074KOTGC&keywords=inklings+by+toby+gray&qid=1689026488&s=books&sprefix=inklings+by+toby+gray%2Cstripbooks%2C103&sr=1-1