Chewbacca and others
I just recently found out that my fish (Chewy) died a few days ago. Many of you may not have known that I had a fish. In fact, he wasn't really mine at all. I inherited him once a friend of mine graduated, and Sherm passed him down for me after I left and he graduated. Even while he was mine, I never took care of him. Sherm fed him and cleaned his tank and the like, because I'm stupid about fish, and lazy. But anyways, now he's dead. He was some kind of beta or something crazy like that. I don't really know what kind he was, technically speaking. All I know is he was mean as hell and everyone who knew him could barely stand being in the same room as him and I loved him with all my heart. He had a notoriously violent disposition, and it was whispered that if you stared too long into his eyes, he could steal your soul. We are all diminished by our loss of him.
This reminds me of another fish I used to have. I was down fishing in a creek under a bridge one day, straw hat, overalls, bamboo fishing rod and all, when I caught him. He was a big devil, and when I picked him up to take him off the hook, he winked at me. That wink won my heart, and I couldn't bare to skin him up and eat him, so I kept him in a tank in my room.
One day, I found him lying outside the tank, gills flapping for air, so I picked him back up and put him in the tank. Not a minute later, the lunatic jumped right back out. At that point, I thought maybe he was trying to tell me something, so I let him out a little while longer. This happened every day for several months, and each day I would leave him out a little longer, until finally I kept him out of the tank and let him sleep at the foot of my bed. By that time, he'd managed a bit of a flapping duck walk, so he and I would take walks.
Well, not a month later, I was walking with him down the road when we came upon the same bridge I had been fishing under when I first met him. It was a wooden bridge, and by this time the planks were starting to rot and the bridge was in poor repair. Wouldn't you know it, as we were walking across that bridge one of the planks gave way and the poor guy fell back into the creek. I rushed down to the bottom of the bridge to help him out, but by that time, it was too late. He had drowned.
So that's about that. Have a fine day, folks.
This reminds me of another fish I used to have. I was down fishing in a creek under a bridge one day, straw hat, overalls, bamboo fishing rod and all, when I caught him. He was a big devil, and when I picked him up to take him off the hook, he winked at me. That wink won my heart, and I couldn't bare to skin him up and eat him, so I kept him in a tank in my room.
One day, I found him lying outside the tank, gills flapping for air, so I picked him back up and put him in the tank. Not a minute later, the lunatic jumped right back out. At that point, I thought maybe he was trying to tell me something, so I let him out a little while longer. This happened every day for several months, and each day I would leave him out a little longer, until finally I kept him out of the tank and let him sleep at the foot of my bed. By that time, he'd managed a bit of a flapping duck walk, so he and I would take walks.
Well, not a month later, I was walking with him down the road when we came upon the same bridge I had been fishing under when I first met him. It was a wooden bridge, and by this time the planks were starting to rot and the bridge was in poor repair. Wouldn't you know it, as we were walking across that bridge one of the planks gave way and the poor guy fell back into the creek. I rushed down to the bottom of the bridge to help him out, but by that time, it was too late. He had drowned.
So that's about that. Have a fine day, folks.
posted by Roger W. at 4:04 PM
10 Comments:
Sorry about your fish.
As for the rest of the story....have you been drinking? :) It doesn't really matter, still an entertaining story. Take care!
I wish I had been drinking. But no, I have not. Glad you enjoyed the story, and thanks for the kind words in this time of utter despair.
Roger,
You are definitely a different kind of cat! By the way, what does Ba-ba-dur mean, anyway? Since you didn't answer my question about Bravo, I will answer it for you, I think. That must be the Joliet battery, right? I suspect you have too much time on your hands. Instead of writing about fictional fish, you should be doing PT! I love PT, good for you, good for me! Of course my PT is limited to my exercise bike. I've been reading A History of the United States Marines by Brigadier General Edward Howard Simmons, USMC (Ret) while I pedal like mad. It's pretty interesting, but what really gets my heart rate up is when I watch your MCRD video while exercising. Wierd, huh?
By the way, I talked to Grandma Willey yesterday at Brett's soccer game. She was really thrilled that you called her! I know you haven't been drinking, but here's food for thought; think about what kind of drink I can buy you when you get back. Maybe some 18 year old Glenlivet?
Love,
Dad
I'm sorry for the loss. I'll never forget the precious moments spent watching the fish.
And the moral of the story is..." you can't go home again". Didn't that fish know that he had outgrown the water life? Too bad.
You really ought to consider writing a book. A running record of your musings would prove interesting in the future. However, I was wondering what drugs you were on as I was reading it. I knew you had never been fishing in overalls and a straw hat.
I agree with Dad, you do have too much time on your hands. See you soon.
Sarah
Hey, Roger.
There was definately Creedence Clearwater music in the background as I read about your fishy companions...hmmm...now it has segued into The Doors. But how can that be? You're not running through the jungle. Ah, but it is The End for the fish.
My family can attest to the fact that I believe all bridges are unsafe, so I'm not surprised your fish had such a gruesome ending.
Take care.
Sorry to hear about Chewy but, honestly, that thing was the devil. I think it tried to kill me once...
Hey Rog,
How's it going?
I had TOTALLY forgotten about that fish...such fond memories! All three of you guys had the bibs, and Grandpa had given you the bamboo pole, but remember how hard of a time that we had finding that hat? I believe it was Mr. Palmer who had that old one in his garage, and thanks to his wife, Donna, he gave it up for you since you wanted it so badly!
Thanks for such a fun story! You should just go for the degree in creative writing and forget about a future in the CIA or Law or anything else.
Hang in there and we'll get you out of the Marines if you want...take care these last few days/weeks and we'll all see you safely at home soon.
Love you!
Mom
Folks,
I'm afraid I've taken too much credit for the fish story already. I got the basic gist of the story from an old book of tall tales we had as kids, and took it from there. That is, the one who drowned. Chewbacca, unfortunately, was real until only recently. Anyways, the plot was borrowed from folklore but the writing was mine.
Dad,
Bur-ba-dur is something Bob used to say. I'm not sure what it means. You could ask him, but I doubt he knows either. By the way, thanks for checking with the other Bob for me for availability of Durangos. I thought that was reassuring. Also, Glenlivet sounds fine to me, if you don't mind the price.
P.S.
Mom, it sounds like you and I must be on the same mind-altering intoxicant, if you're chiming in to back up my story. You rock.
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