This is Frank Norman Muth (aka, Frank N. Muth). He is, at first glance, an ordinary fantail goldfish. But there is something awfully special about him. He was a gift (an early gift) for my 25th birthday from my creative husband. We joked that if we could keep him alive, we'd try for some kids.
I am now 30.
I celebrate July 24 as his birthday, but I know he is older than that. He's quite the fish. Wiggly, even though he's long in the fin. He follows you around the bowl, shaking his fantail in greeting. He's spastic, he's hyper. And it's hard to take a picture of a fish in a bowl.
When I made my imaginary list of husband qualities, "pet lover" was NOT on the list. In fact, if I'd met a pet lover, and started dating him, that and that alone could have been a deal breaker for me. I am not into pet hair, pet bodily functions, pet bathing, pet drool, pet prints, vet bills, etc.
I am into Other People's Pets. There is a whole houseful of pets in Niagara, WI, that I'm quite attached to. I hear there's a cute puppy in California who really wants to meet me. I like animals, and I can be friends with them. But in my house? I don't think so. In a barn? Totally another story.
Some of you may still be reeling from my deal-breaker comment. However, this is one issue that I did not want to be fighting about 2 or 20 years into a marriage. It obviously is a non issue, since Michael did not want any hairy pets in the house, either. And his distaste for the idea of indoor pets (at our house) grew after a brief stint at a carpet cleaning company.
But I do love my fish. He's fantastic. He's the spunkiest little guy, swimming merrily along. He's cheated death - a fish food container dumping incident that could have been catastrophic. He's had a fin disease, and lived. He's got the same 1 gallon bowl, the same little plastic plant and blue rocks that he came with. And this pet is ours. The boys love him, too, and he's very low maintenance. Just like me.
Don't deny it - deep down, you wish you had a fish who was even half as cool as Frank.
4 comments:
I don't even attempt to deny it. My own dear departed Beta named Gam (short for Gamaliel) live just shy of 6 months, and that may just be proof positive that John and I should not be parents. Heh, KIDDING!!!
Now, about that the dealbreaker comment...I'm not certain I can take you completely seriously there. It's easy to say that when you're imagining some nameless, faceless swain who would have turned your heart cold the moment he spoke those fateful words: "Lets get married and have a puppy, my pet." But imagine those words coming from MICHAEL... would that REALLY have been a dealbreaker? Hmmmm. I guess we'll never know. ;)
Ruth, I am pretty sure it really would have been a deal breaker. Michael and I talked about a LOT of things before we were emotionally attached. :-) But you are right, we never will REALLY know...
oh, and I give you many, many bonus points for "faceless swain" and the words that fictional one spoke. many, indeed.
We had a goldfish for one day. he lived in my trifle bowl which I can now never use again. We didn't want the "work" so we gave him to our neighbor and he's been alive for over 2 months! (He was won at a fair, his name is Carnie) Now we have a hermit crab and its the BEST. Madda knows that Mommy does NOT touch it so Crabbie only comes out when Daddy's home. But she knows the things she has to do to keep him alive. So far the dog hasnt eaten him. even better
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