We have two beta fish in the office. Mine died Thursday. He seemed fine in the morning when I fed him, though a bit disinterested. By afternoon he was vertical, rather than belly up, but still as dead as disco. So I had another brief ceremony, ending with the traditional sendoff into the oblivion of sewer pipes (in other words, I flushed him), the cleaning out of the tank, and the scheduling of another quest to find a replacement.
On my lunch hour the next day, I headed to the pet store and, after enduring a traffic jam due to a nasty accident at the intersection, along with a crowded parking lot filled with lost souls packed one to a vehicle, I found a new companion. His bright eyes latched onto mine and he wouldn’t let me out of his sight until I took him away from the terrors and boredom of spending days in an over-sized clear plastic cup suspended inside a display next to dozen others of his species.
He now has a grand new expansive home, cleaned and sanitized for his protection (and mine), and he’ll have lots of attention over the weekend while I’m gone. He may even get to visit his comrade in the other cubicle, who looks a bit like him.
Yes, it was a rather quiet week in the office, since I only had news of a beta dying. A co-worker lost a horse and a cat back at her home in the same day, so I guess I’m lucky. Fish can make good companion animals, and a helpful part of the workplace, encouraging looking away from the computer screen (recommended every 20 minutes). They make you smile.
I may not have to write about this beta for a while, since their average lifespan is about 1-3 years. If he learns any neat tricks, look for him on YouTube.
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