I rescued a fish.
Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous, but I did. I worked a bar mitzvah last night where they had a game of fish racing for the kids. This consisted of two lanes where you got to choose one of hundreds of goldfish to race against another in a lane parallel to yours. You get these fish to move by poking them with straws and unless I'm mistaken, the winner gets to keep the fish. So, dozens of fish are handed out to kids ages 10-15, kids who have no plan or intention to own a fish. Then, at the end of the night when the party is over, all of the fish who didn't get taken home get flushed.
I couldn't bear it.
At the end of the night there was one unclaimed fish sitting in the gallery as people broke down the party around him. He looked dead, he was just resting at the bottom of the tiny bowl. So I asked someone what would happen to him, they said "we get rid of them."
After hundreds of fish died to entertain some kids at this bar mitzvah I couldn't stand the thought of losing another. So, I took him home. The least I could do was save one.
Now, I don't have any fish, so I certainly don't have fish food lying around. I read online after some quick research in my cab home that you can feed them an assortment of fruits and vegetables! I happened to have some carrot sticks so I peeled one and baked it at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes and then chopped it up into tiny tiny little pieces.
And he liked it! But like I said, I don't have any fish so the best temporary home I could offer him was a large vase. It's pretty cute! He would quickly swim through the tiny pieces of carrot, which would make them fly to the top of the vase and sink. He would catch as many as he could before they hit the ground again. I really think he seems happy. I could definitely see a change in his whole attitude when I moved him into the bigger vase, he started swimming around and exploring. But as you can see, he needed more...
Now, my boyfriend didn't seem too too thrilled that we have a new pet and I just couldn't figure out why, he is so sweet and I know he is happy I didn't let the fish die. I inquired enough to finally learn that he was actually planning on getting me a little aquarium for my birthday. I feel so bad. So I promised him today that when I went to the store to buy him food and oxygen, I would only get him what he needs to survive. So, he still lives in the vase, but my birthday is on Wednesday, so it's very temporary. I got him a few live plants and a moss ball to play with. I love the little guy!
So, I decided to call him Hope. He survived even though all odds were against him, and after the attacks in Paris and the regular attacks that we don't often hear about all around the world, I just thought we all needed a little bit of hope. I know I do.
Of course, my buddy Anthony was hanging out at our place when I got home and he thought Hope was too feminine since I'm addressing him as a boy. Then he went on to complain about all of the new weird names people are naming their kids and said "Why doesn't anyone just name their kid John anymore?!" And he's right, it happens but I met a guy named Kale the other day. So, I said "that's a great name. Let's call him John Hope." John Hope Grace. I love it.