A Fishy Story

It’s a short lived story it all started in fall of 2007 and ended in winter of 2007. My great niece on my husband’s side decided to leave New Brunswick and head West for work and love. Being in her early 20’s she did not want to be tied down with her Chinese fighting fish or otherwise known as a Betta fish. So, knowing that Auntie was a sucker for strays I was the first to be called. “Would you please take my fish, Auntie?” How could I say no, he came with a tank, and food. He did well for awhile. One day I was shopping and decided to buy a snail to help keep the little one gallon home of “Jacob Fire” nice and clean. The snail lasted a couple of weeks when I started noticing Jacob Fire stocking him. Cue Jaws Music! One morning I woke to find there had been a homicide in my home. More accurately in Jacob Fire’s home. There was snail parts all over his little house. So I cleaned out the tank and the snail shell and put the shell back in the tank so that the kids wouldn’t realize the snail was murdered. A month or so later Jacob Fire too passed away. I’m assuming from the constant reminder of his hideous crime… the empty snail shell.
Being the mother that I am, I intended to go to the store later that day and buy a new fish before the boys got home so there would be no teary eyed drama over the dead fish. Well I had a problem, my 3 year old daughter. She did not know the fish died but she was with me shopping how was I to get the fish without her noticing and tattling on me. It couldn’t be done.

So when the boys came home I told them of Jacob Fire’s sad fate. They decided that after we had supper (which wasn’t fish I might add), they and their Father would go out and get a replacement fish. So I gave them strict instructions, 1 fish the same as the previous one and they are on sale for $7.95. Don’t bring anything else home! This was good instructions because my youngest son, who had ownership of the previous fish, was having a birthday in 2 weeks and Christmas would arrive the week later. Money was not in abundance and other gifts were already in the making, you know what I’m saying?

This is when the real drama began. You shouldn’t really send 3 guys to buy 1 replacement fish. What was I thinking? It would seem that the fish were such a good price that there was none left. Of course they didn’t want to come home empty handed and wait for a new supply. My husband and two boys arrived home with 2 sharks, a 5 gallon fish tank, a heater, and typical fish tank paraphernalia, to the tune of $80.00. It would be safe to say I ranted for many hours that night. Went to bed ranting and got up ranting the next day. After about a week I decided that I can’t stay angry forever and got over these expensive little fish that had invaded my tranquillity and threw off my grove! I got over them just in time to watch them die. Both fish didn’t last 2 weeks in my home. We have other pets, 3 cats (1 a stray) and a dog. However I’m pretty sure we’ll never have another fish.