Dead fish, dead fish, red fish, new fish!

Last night at bedtime, Emma came rushing upstairs to tell Darren that Quickster (Lauren's goldfish) was behaving strangely. He was kinda lying on one side, alternately drifting around the tank and coming up to the surface. An executive decision was made to send Quickster on his way, and so he was peacefully ushered into the hereafter. Forgive me...two fish funerals in 24 hours has made me wax a little poetic.

So today after school, Darren and the girls went fish shopping and this was the result; a betta fish. Apparently these fish require very little in order to survive and thrive. In other words, they're perfect for us! I don't want to give the impression that we aren't good pet owners. We've managed to keep a cat alive for 18 months, after all. Sure, she had that whole over-grooming problem and was missing a lot of fur for a while, but still. We never forgot to feed her or anything.

I'm not sure that a name has been settled on for this fish. Darren asked the girls what they were going to call it, and Emma said "RED!!". (It's not really clear in the picture, but the fish is red). Darren suggested that they think about it some more (!), and a few minutes later, Lauren suggested that they could call the fish Rouge. Hmmm...I sense a theme here. They had also considered Speedster, as an homage to the deceased, but that was rejected for reasons unknown. I'm personally holding out hope for Benny, but I guess we'll see.

Emma thinks that the fish seems quite happy in his new home. I get the feeling that this fish doesn't have the chirpiest personality. He stared back at me quite brazenly when I was taking a picture or two of him, and I got the distinct impression that he was scowling at me, as if to say Get a good shot? How about you get me out of this frickin tupperware?

In other news, I should mention that Will is fine and dandy, by the way. He hasn't been mentioned in a few posts now, and I wanted to alleviate any concern that he had dropped off the face of the earth. During one conversation I had with him today, he shared some thoughts with me about Rose The Crossing Guard. He noted that she always wears at least 2 coats, and always has sleeves on. I pointed out that most coats do, in fact, have sleeves. Otherwise they would be called vests. He said that even in the warm weather, she always has her arms covered up. I said "So, what's your point?". His point was that he thinks she has some sort of bionic prosthetic arms that she snaps on, and she doesn't want anyone to know about it. I'm pretty sure bionic prosthetic arms are a prerequisite for most crossing guards, right?