George is Dead
Thursday night I had a slightly drunken conversation with my friend James. Basically I was rambling about my family (who he has known for many years) and I got onto the topic of death, heh.It went something like this:
"I don't know, James, I feel like my own experience has been pretty removed from death. I mean - I know people who have died, my age and older, but it's never been anyone I've been terribly close to. Like - I have a few dead grandparents but they have been gone since before I was born...But my fish died the other day - and I actually think I did pretty well with that.""
James started laughing as I described the scene.
"Basically," I said, "he started flailing all about like he couldn't breathe. He had this big swollen gray mass just under his 'foopa,' and his gills were stuck open and looked blood red. Jesse correctly diagnosed 'dropsy' as the culprit. I looked online only to find that I didn't have the proper antiobiotics to save him from his 90% fatal condition, and I couldn't go to the pet store at 9 pm during a fucking blizzard. I did read that if you add salt to the water, you could possibly save the fish from becoming too bloated by removing the excess liquid from its body."
James kept nodding and grinning.
"Jeremy said he was going to use a little kosher salt , but I read that you should use epsom salts for bacterial disease, and kosher for fungal. I assumed it was bacterial because he was so bloated and it came on quickly. I told Jeremy not to do it, but eventually gave in since I knew the fish was going to die after they shocked it with a bunch of cold 'fresh' water."
"I looked into his eye right before he died. I was all bloodshot and I knew I was staring fishy death in the face. Anyway - I made Jeremy flush him the next day even though everyone else though we should bury him with a pick axe in the frozen tundra...but I think I'm okay with the whole death thing - ya know?"
Maybe I'll see you next time around, George. You were a good fish and lasted 5 months longer than I expected.
Labels: betta fish, death
posted by BettingonHumanity @ 10:58 PM
Comments: 5
