Another birthday had arrived and my granddaughter was
coming for the celebration. She lived far away so this was a special treat. Soon
the family arrived and Keira jumped into my arms telling me that she had an
extra special gift for me. A few presents
were opened and Keira just couldn’t wait anymore, bursting at the seams wanting
to tell me what it was.
“Poppy, Poppy open it up, open it up!”she exclaimed .
I peeled off the wrapping and pulled out a plastic bag with
a Fighting Beta fish in it. Not having planned on this, I fussed over the fish
making a big splash to her delight. It came with all the accoutrements including
a tank, light, food and filters.
Things went along well after the party. Raspberry (as Keira
had named her) fit into our life and we got along swimmingly. A vacation
had been planned and I asked one of my daughters to feed the fish while we were
gone.
We had a nice time and returned home after a week that
had quickly passed. As I went about the apartment unpacking I noticed something
unusual in the tank and drawing closer, I realized that Raspberry had grown a potbelly
in my absence! I asked my daughter how often she had fed the fish. Showing a guilt-ridden
face she confessed that she had lost track and fed her a few times a day.
Raspberry needed a makeover. It took her a while to come
to this realization and she floundered around for a while about making this
commitment. One day on a fluke she started to dart around the bowl
swimming faster and faster, creating a whirlpool in her wake just for the halibut.
She was ready for the challenge! From that point forward, it seemed that
the tide had turned and I decided to take Raspberry to Weight Watchers
with me since she seemed so motivated to get back into shape. Putting her bowl
on the seat next to me, we got a number of funny looks at first, but given the
current zeitgeist of political correctness, people held their tongues and kept
their opinions to themselves. Clearly, Raspberry seemed to enjoy getting back
to school and paid attention, swimming while facing the speaker the
whole time. When we got home, she started to swim continuous laps around the
bowl and scaled back on her portions at mealtime. Within days, the
potbelly began to dissipate and she started to get back into fish form. Each
day she swam many laps around the bowl and was clearly hooked on her workout,
occasionally taking a break to relax, put her fins up and watch JAWS or Animal
Planet while sharing a Swedish fish with me.
Now, Raspberry has resumed her goal of making the 2020 US
Olympic swim team, Fish Division and I would not be surprised if she attains her
goal and swims to the top of the podium! Jim
6/19
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