Monday, April 8, 2013

The Geriatric Goldfish

                                                                      

                                                              
When our youngest son was in kindergarten, we attended a school carnival where he was awarded a tiny goldfish for winning at ring toss. We proudly carried him out in his baggie, and set out to purchase his starter home. Sensing his loneliness, my boy suggested that we find him a roommate. When there were two, they were known as Red Spot and Gold Dot respectively.

By the time they moved into their third residence, Red Spot had passed on and Gold Dot continued to grow bigger and stronger. Once we arrived home from a ten day vacation, and found the automatic fish food feeder had broken, but Gold Dot was still going strong. This miraculous orange fish grew larger than any goldfish we had ever seen.

When my son was a freshman in high school, Gold Dot miscalculated his leap from the tank to the bowl during bath time, and ended up on the kitchen floor. I was wearing my slippery dishwashing gloves, and called my husband for help. He saw the fish wiggling on the floor and simply stated, "It's his time," and walked away.

My son came running into the room in tears, so I yanked off my gloves and swooshed him back into the water. Then he saw something red in the water and yelled, "He's bleeding! He's bleeding!" So I put him into the smaller bowl, applying pressure to his wound by using a napkin as a tourniquet.

Meanwhile, my husband added, "There's nothing you can do. He had a long life." My significant other's comments were especially comforting considering he's in the healthcare business. It really made me reconsider having a living will, "Indigestion, nonsense! It's her time."

Fortunately, Gold Dot survived physically: mentally we're not so sure. As my son tells the story, his dad was the hero who saved his favorite goldfish after his mother carelessly let him jump out of the tank.


Note: This is a re-post from my first A to Z in 2011

39 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading about Gold Dot, may he/she lives a long life and continues to bring unexpected laughter to reader, me especially ;) Hope the 2nd week of A-Z will be filled with more witty stories. All the best from us at nuttybean.

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  2. Wonderful story about Dot the Gold fish. some fish are meant to last so it seems.

    Yvonne.

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  3. That's hilarious. As a teenager, I was once entrusted with my older (married) sister's goldfish when they went away on holiday; this story does not have a good ending...maybe they did not have the same strong will to live as Gold Dot. -Belinda.

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  4. My husband has put off doing his living will. I tell him that is not a good idea as who knows what kind of mood I will be in on any day.

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  5. I dealt with something similar not too long ago. My 18 yr old dog fell through the pond's ice in my yard. Got him out, but I thought for sure he was a gonner.

    It took a couple days for him to recover, but he's doing just fine! I really thought he wasn't going to make it.

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  6. thats just wrong! you saved it!
    and wow, you saved it!
    what a story, and funny pic =)

    happy g day!

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  7. Well now you've got the true story in print...maybe some day your son will read it and have an 'aha' moment.

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  8. That is a great story. Our family tried to raise gold fish more than once. The never lasted very long. Gold Dot was saved. That is what counts anyway.

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  9. God Dot sounds like a tough character.
    The things we do for our kids!

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  10. I've never managed to keep goldfish for very long. This one sounded like a real fighter!

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  11. oh i was hoping the story would end with him making it--yay:)

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  12. LOL--The Amazing Gold Dot! A fighter among gold fish :-)

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  13. Now there's a story! I was in stitches at poor Dot's expense, I'm afraid, but reading about a geriatric goldfish was a super way to start my day.

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  14. Mom got no credit!
    And that's an old fish.

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  15. Hahaha. Great story Julie. We have a number of goldfish stories from our years with fish, but none lasted that long. Wow! We did have one that jumped out of the tank once too. Very odd. It didn't last too long after we put it back in the tank, just a few days, or that may be the second time it jumped the tank. I guess he was destined for another life! It's true the kids have different perspectives and warped memories about who has done what. Gives all the opportunity to grow in selflessness I guess. Loved this. God bless, Maria from Delight Directed Living

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  16. LOL....that's a great story and your husband's response gave me a laugh :)

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  17. That's unfair! You're the hero there.
    Your title made me think on our three golden fish. After nearly 18 years or so we also had a geriatric tank. They grew extra big and we were in awe they lasted that long. After the first died, the others didn't survive longer.

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  18. Nuttybean - Nice to meet you through A to Z! Sadly, Gold Dot is no longer with us, but he/she had a good run. Thanks Nuttybean!

    Yvonne - Gold Dot was a fighter. Thanks Yvonne!

    Belinda - Their goldfish must've been sickly long before you arrived. Sorry you had to go through that. Thanks Belinda!

    Arleen - That is funny, but he should still have one for peace of mind.

    Jay - You are quite the hero! I'm glad that your dog is okay, and you seem very lucky to have each other.

    Tara - He just likes to tease me. I'm glad I found the picture, though a goldfish with a grey beard would've been even better. Thanks Tara!

    Delores - He saw the whole thing, but felt he should stick up for the guy who drove him to baseball practice.

    Yvonne - It 's true that they generally have short lives. Thanks Yvonne!


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  19. That is really impressive that it lived so long. We never did have much luck with fish. Happy G day!
    tm

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  20. Thanks Ornery!

    Joy - I wasn't gonna let anything happen to Gold Dot on my watch. Thanks Joy!

    Rosalind - He certainly had good genes.

    Lynn - We were all very grateful.

    Amy - He definitely was a fighter. Great to meet you Amy, and thanks for following me!

    Thanks so much Lee!

    Alex - I really didn't do very much, but the whole thing struck me funny. My son was just kidding around with me.

    Maria - Sorry that your goldfish didn't swim in the same pool as mine. It is funny how kids have different perspectives. Thanks for following me Maria!

    Mark - Fortunately, he takes much better care of our kids than their goldfish! Thanks Mark!

    Al - It is amazing when they last so long. I'm sure that you gave them lots to live for. I didn't really do anything heroic. It was just funny putting all of the events together. Thanks Al!

    Julie



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  21. My daughter had a goldfish like that. I thought it would never die! WE started with 5 goldfish (called 'feeder' fish); slowly one by one, they disappeared. The remaining then-huge fish--Jerome--had consumed them.

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  22. That's typical: the woman is the true hero but the aloof man gets all the credit. Still, I really like this story. That's a resilient fish. I think I owned one goldfish once. It died so quickly than I never wanted another.

    xoRobyn

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  23. Susan - Jerome was one heck of a nasty fish. Hope he didn't traumatize your daughter.

    Robyn - I think they were just having fun with me. I really was more of a "quicker picker upper" than a hero, but he was incredibly resilient.

    Julie

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  24. Can't believe a goldfish can live that long. Wow!

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  25. Jewels, knowing you as I do, that you tossed the gloves to save Gold Dot's life applied compression and the hubby "has tossed in the towel" gets the Hero's parade. So next time Hubby chokes on take out at the family table, whip out the Addendum to the DNR papers that show he signed a NO HEIMLICH and watch him flounder. ;)

    LampChop

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  26. Nancy - It was pretty amazing!

    Lynn - "Watch him flounder?!" You are quite the poetess my friend. I really want to frame this comment to cherish forever. The old "NO HEIMLICH" DNR papers are a must for any marriage. You know this would really make a great greeting card. Thanks LambChop!

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  27. Your husband sounds like mine. How funny! Poor Red Dot!

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  28. Darn men; always the hero's.
    When is it that you found the time to give that fish jumping lessons?

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  29. I don't remember this one from the 2011 challenge. I loved it and love Gold Dot. Also cracked up at your husband pulling the plug on you for indigestion LOL LOL. :D

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  30. That is just too funny. Hopefully, when it was "his time", Dad didn't announce that the fish on dinner plate was Gold Dot fillet. (Cool post title, btw.)

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  31. Golly gee, glad Gold D gained his/her health again! It could have been so tragic!

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  32. Hildie - Red Spot went to sleep with the fishes long before his prime!. Thanks Hildie!

    Jen - Gold Dot could've been in the circus. I can't take any credit for his athletic ability.

    Julie - I feel pretty safe for now! Thanks so much Julie!

    Jeff - No, we gave him a captain's sendoff instead. Thanks Jeff!

    Donna - Gold Dot was a survivor who laughed in the face of tragedy. Thanks Donna!

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  33. Holy cow, that was one long living fish! :-)

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  34. "It's his time?" OMG - I nearly spit the coffee on the screen. Thanks for the laugh.

    Rhonda @Laugh-Quotes.com
    Visiting from AtoZ #41

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  35. Sia - I probably should have notified Ripley.

    Rhonda - Glad it made you laugh, though I hope you didn't burn yourself. Thanks Rhonda!

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  36. Too funny. Glad you re-posted it. How many months did GD live?

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  37. We too had a carnival fish named squirty... squirty lived through Everything... final he had his day. Great story. I will be back for more.

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  38. Love of Words - He lived almost a year later, so about nine years in total. Thanks love of words!

    Cathy - Squirty sounds like a very mighty goldfish! Thanks Cathy and I look forward to getting to know you!

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  39. Longevity in goldfish? That's a new one for me.
    Not that I know much about fish.......
    Great story!

    Writer In Transit

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