:: Requiem For A Friend ::

:: my heart is heavy today... for a fish...
for a fish that was a friend... ::

:: i've had little opportunity to have pets. a few crayfish pop and i collected in the stream at the end of the street growing up (that usually ended up as a snack for the local raccoon), a wild rabbit that would do tricks in the family room and beg for apple-peels. and a few fish in my aquarium. ::

:: i'd had a pufferfish in baltimore years ago that was a very finicky eater. most just sit on the bottom or stare at their reflection. two years ago the local shop had some puffers; when the clerk opened the top one jumped out into the neighboring tank and i told the clerk that was the one i wanted, thinking the little fellow had some spunk. jeff quickly became a good friend and companion, providing hours of entertainment: whether following me as i vacuumed the rug, watching me make dinner in the kitchen and giving hungry looks, or pouting in the corner when i added new fish which turned out to be bullies (i caught him hiding behind the giant algae-eater rufus easily twenty times his size, which he had befriended for protection). he'd be the one to welcome me home, and would rest close-by as i napped on the couch. everyone that met jeff was immediately captivated by his fluttering fins and his rule-the-roost attitude. if you met jeff, you had an immediate friend. ::

:: within a matter of hours last week, everyone looked suddenly ill. even with medication, the prognosis was not good. saturday i thought we were in the clear, but things took a turn for the worse. last night before bed i peered into the tank with the all the lights off. jeff was playing in the bubbles as if unaware he was sick and should be taking it easy, and swam over when he noticed me sitting there. the little fellow was covered in spots, and i knew the inevitable was near. this morning, just as i feared, he was wrong-side up. as i was saying a few last words, his fins fluttered back to life and he darted to play in the bubbles again one last time. ::

:: thank you for the memories my fishy friend.
and thanks for being a fighter to the end... ::