Lars S. Mulford
February 21st 04, 06:48 AM
I hope you folks don't mind me sharing this story.
Lonesome Joe died just a few minutes ago. He was 17.
He came into our lives already an elder statesman among fish. How he came
to be with us is a story unto itself. In short, it goes something like
this.
Our neighborhood in our 'lil hometown in Southern Delaware is I guess what
you'd consider to be a throwback. We can still leave our doors unlocked, we
still get to know our neighbors and enjoy their company, and we have a real
sense of community. In our lil neighborhood here a few streets over, there
lived an elderly woman named Ilse. She was a remarkable lady in her own
right. My youngest daughter Rachel, 5 at the time, was walking the
neighborhood with me and we saw Ms. Ilse tending her flower garden. Rachel
was quite curious and sauntered over to ask her about the flowers. Like the
flowers she tended, a real relationship bloomed between Rachel and Ms. Ilse,
with Ms. Ilse becoming like a grandmother to her. Rachel spent afternoons
there playing, tending garden, making shakes and planting. They also worked
together to take care of "Lonesome Joe", Ms. Ilse's goldfish. Lonesome Joe
was an unusual looking goldfish. He was white and orange and shaped like a
comet but with incredibly long and delicate looking fins. His tail was so
long and flowing that he barely used it, instead using his pectoral fins to
hold position by waving them vigorously back and forth. Every now and again
he'd tilt sideways and wave his fins and Ms. Ilse would exclaim to Rachel
that "Lonesome Joe was saying howdy!" Joe also had a bend in his body, a
deformation that would have led to him being just another feeder fish and
nothing more. Ms. Ilse saw him as a young fish, struggling just to survive
in a tank full of others, and she picked him. I'm sure the pet store owner
tried to discourage her, but Ms. Ilse would not be deterred. She brought
Joe home and he made his home in a 15 gallon tank. Ms. Ilse lavished
attention on Joe and he eventually began to flourish. He reached a size of
approximately 7 inches and stayed that size for the rest of his life.
Around the time that Rachel turned 7, Ms. Ilse became very sick. It was a
fast spreading illness and she knew her time was limited. Even though the
illness sapped her strength and ultimately took her life, it could not touch
her spirit. On Rachel's last visit to see Ms. Ilse, she was at home from
the hospital. We knew it would be the last visit. Ms. Ilse was not
accepting visitors but when she was told that it was Rachel, she had her
brought in. Ms. Ilse told Rachel just how much their friendship meant to
her, and how it so enriched her life. I listened with tears flowing as
Rachel told Ms. Ilse that she loved her and that her friendship would stay
with her forever. Ms. Ilse made one request of Rachel before she said
goodbye to us. She told Rachel that Lonesome Joe would need a new home,
someone that knows him and would love him as she did. She asked Rachel if
she would take care of Lonesome Joe for her.
We brought Lonesome Joe home 3 days later when Ms. Ilse passed.
Rachel lavished attention on Lonesome Joe just as Ms. Ilse did. Joe
responded to her and would often wave and say howdy, just as he did for Ms.
Ilse. He became more than just a goldfish in an aquarium or a pretty fish
to look at - he was the embodiment of a living ideal, a way of life.
Over the last few months, we noticed Joe really slowing down. All tests
indicated that things were ok in the tank. Joe was just starting to show
his age. Over the last week, he really began to slow down dramatically.
Today, it was as if Joe had decided it was just time. He refused food today
and rested most of the day. He died tonight, still looking as beautiful as
he did when we brought him home. He never lost his color. I buried him
just a bit ago, and in one of life's ironies, his back straightened as he
was laid to rest.
The hardest part will be later this morning, sometime after 8am, when Rachel
wakes up and comes downstairs to give her "good morning" to Lonesome Joe. I
will tell her then.
I won't tell her that he passed though.
I think I'll tell her that it was time for him to keep a long overdue
appointment to return to the love of Ms. Ilse. Rachel will understand that.
I'll also tell her that Lonesome Joe was waving and saying howdy to her.
Goodbye Lonesome Joe. Some may mock the fact that you were a fish and I've
shed tears for you, with more to come later this morning. The fact is, you
made a difference in our lives, and we're better for having shared time with
you.
--
"Sea" ya!
--Lars S. Mulford
"You can find evil anywhere you look.
The question is, why are you looking?"
--
"Sea" ya!
--Lars S. Mulford
"You can find evil anywhere you look.
The question is, why are you looking?"
Lonesome Joe died just a few minutes ago. He was 17.
He came into our lives already an elder statesman among fish. How he came
to be with us is a story unto itself. In short, it goes something like
this.
Our neighborhood in our 'lil hometown in Southern Delaware is I guess what
you'd consider to be a throwback. We can still leave our doors unlocked, we
still get to know our neighbors and enjoy their company, and we have a real
sense of community. In our lil neighborhood here a few streets over, there
lived an elderly woman named Ilse. She was a remarkable lady in her own
right. My youngest daughter Rachel, 5 at the time, was walking the
neighborhood with me and we saw Ms. Ilse tending her flower garden. Rachel
was quite curious and sauntered over to ask her about the flowers. Like the
flowers she tended, a real relationship bloomed between Rachel and Ms. Ilse,
with Ms. Ilse becoming like a grandmother to her. Rachel spent afternoons
there playing, tending garden, making shakes and planting. They also worked
together to take care of "Lonesome Joe", Ms. Ilse's goldfish. Lonesome Joe
was an unusual looking goldfish. He was white and orange and shaped like a
comet but with incredibly long and delicate looking fins. His tail was so
long and flowing that he barely used it, instead using his pectoral fins to
hold position by waving them vigorously back and forth. Every now and again
he'd tilt sideways and wave his fins and Ms. Ilse would exclaim to Rachel
that "Lonesome Joe was saying howdy!" Joe also had a bend in his body, a
deformation that would have led to him being just another feeder fish and
nothing more. Ms. Ilse saw him as a young fish, struggling just to survive
in a tank full of others, and she picked him. I'm sure the pet store owner
tried to discourage her, but Ms. Ilse would not be deterred. She brought
Joe home and he made his home in a 15 gallon tank. Ms. Ilse lavished
attention on Joe and he eventually began to flourish. He reached a size of
approximately 7 inches and stayed that size for the rest of his life.
Around the time that Rachel turned 7, Ms. Ilse became very sick. It was a
fast spreading illness and she knew her time was limited. Even though the
illness sapped her strength and ultimately took her life, it could not touch
her spirit. On Rachel's last visit to see Ms. Ilse, she was at home from
the hospital. We knew it would be the last visit. Ms. Ilse was not
accepting visitors but when she was told that it was Rachel, she had her
brought in. Ms. Ilse told Rachel just how much their friendship meant to
her, and how it so enriched her life. I listened with tears flowing as
Rachel told Ms. Ilse that she loved her and that her friendship would stay
with her forever. Ms. Ilse made one request of Rachel before she said
goodbye to us. She told Rachel that Lonesome Joe would need a new home,
someone that knows him and would love him as she did. She asked Rachel if
she would take care of Lonesome Joe for her.
We brought Lonesome Joe home 3 days later when Ms. Ilse passed.
Rachel lavished attention on Lonesome Joe just as Ms. Ilse did. Joe
responded to her and would often wave and say howdy, just as he did for Ms.
Ilse. He became more than just a goldfish in an aquarium or a pretty fish
to look at - he was the embodiment of a living ideal, a way of life.
Over the last few months, we noticed Joe really slowing down. All tests
indicated that things were ok in the tank. Joe was just starting to show
his age. Over the last week, he really began to slow down dramatically.
Today, it was as if Joe had decided it was just time. He refused food today
and rested most of the day. He died tonight, still looking as beautiful as
he did when we brought him home. He never lost his color. I buried him
just a bit ago, and in one of life's ironies, his back straightened as he
was laid to rest.
The hardest part will be later this morning, sometime after 8am, when Rachel
wakes up and comes downstairs to give her "good morning" to Lonesome Joe. I
will tell her then.
I won't tell her that he passed though.
I think I'll tell her that it was time for him to keep a long overdue
appointment to return to the love of Ms. Ilse. Rachel will understand that.
I'll also tell her that Lonesome Joe was waving and saying howdy to her.
Goodbye Lonesome Joe. Some may mock the fact that you were a fish and I've
shed tears for you, with more to come later this morning. The fact is, you
made a difference in our lives, and we're better for having shared time with
you.
--
"Sea" ya!
--Lars S. Mulford
"You can find evil anywhere you look.
The question is, why are you looking?"
--
"Sea" ya!
--Lars S. Mulford
"You can find evil anywhere you look.
The question is, why are you looking?"