R.I.P., Pug
It is my sad duty to report that Pug, my goldfish, has passed away.
Pug had been showing increasing signs of listlessness in recent days, so it's probably fair to say that it was "his time." We think he probably died sometime this morning or early afternoon; he was discovered floating amidst his fake plants this evening when I tried to feed him.
He was given the traditional burial at sea, and afterwards we played Confutatis (from Mozart's Requiem) in his honor.
Shortly after Pug's nautical burial, Becky, Loyette and I were walking Robbie on this pleasant spring evening, and we (well, Becky and I, at least) found ourselves musing about what an eventful time in our lives Pug witnessed. When we first got him, way back on May 30, 2007, I was a brand new law-school graduate, just starting to think about the daunting prospect of studying for the bar. Becky, meanwhile, was a mere nine weeks pregnant -- and we'd only known that she was pregnant for less than a month. Loyette, for her part, was not quite an inch long, about the size of a grape. Oh yes, and our apartment was still full of unpacked boxes from our big move to Knoxville a mere nine days earlier.
Flash forward to today: Loyette is 3 months old, and a true master at the fine art of grabbing things and putting them in her mouth. Becky's a mom, and a damn fine one. I'm a dad, an experienced law clerk, and an honest-to-goodness lawyer. (Is that an oxymoron?) Our once box-filled apartment has become a comfy home, as, more broadly, has the once unfamiliar city of Knoxville. And Becky and I are both way more "domestic" than we ever could have imagined back then, having settled very comfortably into our roles as parents.
From inside his watery home, atop the side table next to our couch, Pug saw all these changes in our lives. And he saw them while braving the hungry stares of frustrated cats who could never quite figure out how to pry open that darn tank. Pug may have been a neurotic fish (thanks to those cats), but he was a good fish, and we bid him a fond farewell. Swim in peace, Pug. May you find comfort in that great fishy palace in the sky sea.
Just as you say, he was a very Good fish :), who serenely saw All his Mammalian associates through many tumultuous times, whilst bravely Staring down any attempts at unauthorized Predation. / So fare thee weel, o stout-finned Pug, and may swarms of tiny Shrimp convey thee to thy rest. :>
Posted by: Joe Loy | Apr 3, 2008 2:23:08 AM
I wish Pug well in the Great Ocean [where cats are never allowed]!
Posted by: Nadine | Apr 3, 2008 3:19:05 AM
He saw all that....and then forgot it 3 seconds later.
Posted by: Marty West | Apr 3, 2008 8:34:32 AM
Heh.
Posted by: Brendan | Apr 3, 2008 10:05:49 AM
Ummm ... while it may constitute "burial TO sea", you have to be on the actual sea to have a "burial AT sea" ... (grin) ...
Yer average porcelain throne ain't exactly the "Briny Deep", after all, for most of us ...
Posted by: Alasdair | Apr 3, 2008 4:13:26 PM
so how would you feel if a fish captured you and threw you back to land to give you a burial at land upon discovery that it was fair to see your time was due.
Posted by: USCROGER | Apr 3, 2008 5:33:26 PM
USCROGER - at least he didn't name his fish "Sashimi" ...
Posted by: Alasdair | Apr 3, 2008 6:22:23 PM
At least he didn't name it "Loyshimi."
Posted by: uscroger | Apr 3, 2008 7:07:17 PM
Nahhhh ... that would risk bringing down a "Hi-Loy-shima" of condemnation from those sensitive souls who regularly comment here ...
Posted by: Alasdair | Apr 3, 2008 8:19:47 PM