Ponderings on Momentary Life
My cousin's fish died yesterday. A strange way to open a blog post. Such an insignificant part of life, but a part that affected me. We have been fish-sitting for a few weeks while our cousin was away. He came to us in old-ish age and we worried over him and coaxed him to live and prayed that he would survive long enough to get him back to her. We didn't know his name. (I think I knew at one point...was it Julio? I usually called him Buddy or Dude.) Julio (if that was indeed this fish's name and not the name of one of his fellow-fishes belonging to said cousin) became part of our life for a few short days. He would hang motionless in the water & we'd talk to him or tap his bowl, willing him to swim, or wiggle his fins, or show some sign of life. Suddenly, he would whirl about as if waking from some daze. He'd do some speedy circles at the surface of the water and then pause, as if tired from the exertion to prove his alive-ness. He was a pe