Thanks for all your condolences over our fish. It�s amazing how attached you can get to small creatures in a short period of time. AJ is handling it better than I. He very much has an eye toward moving on. So today I promised him a trip to the pet shop.

First we stopped at the toy store, the one that sells all the science toys AJ likes and all kinds of wooden toys from Europe and tea set and beautiful books. It�s a small shop, but it�s kind of like a story itself, a picture perfect toy shop. The owner is of an indeterminate but grandfatherly age. He wears cardigans like Mr. Rogers, although he is significantly shorter and rounder and he has a voice that sounds remarkably like Billy Crystal�s. He is one of those people, much like myself, who tends to talk to children instead of adults when both are present. This is, for a toy shop owner, a big plus. AJ was wearing his prized Scott Podsednik shirt today and the shop owner made him feel about ten feet tall by talking to him as if he thought AJ actually was Scott Podsednik. �So, how many bases have you stolen so far this season? Don�t you lead the league in base stealing?� AJ was shy and whispered his answers while facing away from him at first, but eventually came around. After the shop owner had helped us make our selection � a game that AJ likes and a small wind-up butterfly � he gave AJ a toy paratrooper with a plastic parachute, suitable for tossing off our balcony. I also bought AJ a book, which he read to me in the car as I put the presents away and headed to the pet store.

We went to the small pet store where they actually know how to take care of animals, rather than the big box store where we usually get our fish supplies. First we looked at a cage full of the teeniest kittens who all came running over, standing on each others� heads trying to get a look at AJ who peered into their cage. Then we went into the fish room. The lights are dimmed and the room is mostly illuminated by the aquarium lights. AJ was, at first, taken with the large coi, swimming in a huge aquarium and clearly intended for outdoor ponds. After we watched for a while, I steered AJ back to the betas. They had eight, each very different looking from the rest. AJ picked out one in a beautiful iridescent blue. He is much smaller than Getty and a very different personality. Getty would puff up his gills and show off his warlike behavior every time he caught sight of his reflection. This one is much less interested in aggression but much more curious about his surroundings and a little bit skittish. You can see him jump when someone walks by his tank. AJ has named him Gef, after the goldfish that came with our Christmas hotel room. The original Gef was named for his looks � GEF for Green-eyed fish. I think AJ chose Gef for his new fish in part because it sounds a little like Getty. It was a name that seemed right to all of us, even though my husband had been lobbying to name him Alf A. Betta.

Because we were uncertain of Getty�s cause of death, I sterilized everything from his tank and threw out the things I couldn�t sterilize. This meant we needed some new decorative items. AJ picked out a rainbow colored castle with two tiny window holes. �Those are for Gef to look through so he can see what�s inside.� AJ was most pleased when, in fact, Gef did appear to look through one of the holes as he explored the tank.

The fish burial has not yet taken place, but the headstones have been cut (of plywood) and the plans drawn up. We have a busy week ahead, so I�m not sure when the solemn ceremony will take place. Tomorrow Ben Franklin Boy comes to play. AJ has birthday parties to attend Friday and Saturday and our town�s carnival is running all weekend, beginning Thursday and ending with fireworks on Sunday. We�ll be sure to spend some time on roller coasters and giant slides. Last year AJ one a giant plastic duck in a game where he had to pull magnetic ducks out of an ersatz river with a magnetic fishing pole. I myself am looking forward to going down the giant slide on a flour sack and am hoping like hell that AJ is still too small for the big roller coasters. Maybe I�ll make him wear his flattest shoes.

[second entry of the day. Click back for the sad tale of the demise of Getty the fish]

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