Fish fights wedding trip offspring memories in yellow dress
Last week, I overcame obstacles created by reclaimant and non-intuitive technology: Apple’s iPhone and Microsoft’s Office. I even managed to resurrect a sub-woofer that had been rendered inoperable by a remote-wielding two year old. (Thank God for paperclips and duct tape.) This week was marked by preparation for our forthcoming adventure — the Cyprus wedding of Darius and Christiane. Preparations began on the fauna front:
“What will we do with Simone?” Nazy asked.
“Simone?” I asked.
“Simone! Our Siamese Fighting Fish. She needs to be ..”
“She? Nein, Mein Liebchen, Simone is definitely a ‘he’.”
“Well, someone needs to feed him while we’re away.”
The Betta, which this year replaced the traditional gold fish in the Persian New Year display, is quite happy in a small bowl of water. But that won’t work for our 12 day absence. And, the aquarium store won’t watch him while we’re gone. A nearby pet hotel wants $14.00/day to take care of Simone. (He cost $7.99.) The solution was pretty clear to me, But Nazy was not happy:
“You’re worried about dollars and cents when Simone’s life is at stake?”
“Dollar$, my dear, not ¢ents,” I replied. “If we pay for boarding, Simone will wait to die until we get home.” I thought.
“The fish store says we can buy an electric feeder for $69.95.”
“We can flush Simone down the toilet and get a new one for $7.99,” I thought. “That doesn’t seem fiscally prudent,” I replied, aware that Nazy understood more about fiscal prudence than executive management of the largest Wall Street banks.
In the end, we discovered that Melika had hired Phoebe, an animal psychologist specializing in feline cuisine, to cuddle and feed Monster, her gargantuan cat. Phoebe agreed to drop some food into Simone’s bowl while everyone was in Cyprus.
“Just make sure that Phoebe keeps Simone secure from Monster’s curiosity.” Nazy admonished.
“Secure from Monster’s claws,” I thought.
When Darius was very young, Nazy bought him an Atlas for his birthday. This, and, perhaps, my continual travels sparked his interest in the world. He knew (and knows) everything about every place on the planet. He was an adventurous little boy. When he was two years old, I took him on his first airplane flight — a Delta DC-8 from Memphis to Atlanta. It was a special treat because..
“He is disconcerted by Melika’s arrival,” Nazy said.
“Disconcerted?” I replied. “I wonder what Tiger will think about the arrival of his sibling,” I thought.
“He’s not always the center of attention now,” Nazy continued.
“That’s absurd,” I replied. “He is Darius; he will always be the center of attention. He exudes interestingness.”
I am happy to report that Darius shares a several of my characteristics and interests. E.g. we were both college professors.
“Yes, Dan, but you taught in Memphis, Tennessee, he has taught in Iceland and is teaching in Beirut.”
“And your point, Nazy?” I replied.
“I think his locations are a bit more, well, a bit more ‘exotic’.”
But it’s not just our professional life, it’s also our travels. We have both been to countries all over the world.
“Yes, Dan, but you go to ‘conventional’ places like Sweden and Hong Kong, he goes to challenging places like Cambodia and Venezuela.”
“I went to Iran,” I replied. “And Nigeria.” I thought.
“He went hiking in the Carpathian’s ” Nazy retorted. “The alps of Eastern Europe.”
“And I went hiking in The Alps.” I retorted.
“He lived in Iceland, Dan.”
“And I brought the whole family to Houston.”
Darius has always been adventurous, clever and caring. In Holland, he spent his allowance on flowers for his Mom. In Reykjavik, he negotiated a provisional car insurance policy from a rental agency by agreeing to pay the insurance premium if he returned with a damaged car. He did and he did. He..
“… learns languages, Dan. He can speak and understand Old Norse, French, Arabic,..”
“I can do a French accent, Nazy. And I speak American, Canadian, British, Australian..”
Now he will be getting married in about a week. We are very happy for him and for Christiane. She is a wonderful person from a great family. She has already made Darius very happy. After meeting her, Darius’ whole outlook on life changed. He stopped complaining about politics. (Except for the occasional pointed comment about the tenure and promotion committee.) He no longer said that he had ‘nothing to do in Beirut’. He is really, really happy.
And here? We’re preparing for the wedding and the trip. For me, some of the preparations are a bit baffling:
“Which tie will you wear with your gray suit?” Nazy asked.
“I’ll just grab one,” I replied. “I haven’t worn a tie since I retired,” I thought.
“I’m wearing a pale yellow dress,” Nazy continued.
“Hmm,” I mumbled. “Is this a trick question?” I thought.
“And which shoes do you want to bring?”
“My black ones?” I queried sensing that a trap was about to spring shut. “What color are your shoes, my dear?”
“Mine will match my dress, Dan.”
“Do I need pale yellow shoes?” I asked. “Or gray shoes to match my suit?”
“What will we do with Simone?” Nazy asked.
“Simone?” I asked.
“Simone! Our Siamese Fighting Fish. She needs to be ..”
“She? Nein, Mein Liebchen, Simone is definitely a ‘he’.”
“Well, someone needs to feed him while we’re away.”
The Betta, which this year replaced the traditional gold fish in the Persian New Year display, is quite happy in a small bowl of water. But that won’t work for our 12 day absence. And, the aquarium store won’t watch him while we’re gone. A nearby pet hotel wants $14.00/day to take care of Simone. (He cost $7.99.) The solution was pretty clear to me, But Nazy was not happy:
“You’re worried about dollars and cents when Simone’s life is at stake?”
“Dollar$, my dear, not ¢ents,” I replied. “If we pay for boarding, Simone will wait to die until we get home.” I thought.
“The fish store says we can buy an electric feeder for $69.95.”
“We can flush Simone down the toilet and get a new one for $7.99,” I thought. “That doesn’t seem fiscally prudent,” I replied, aware that Nazy understood more about fiscal prudence than executive management of the largest Wall Street banks.
In the end, we discovered that Melika had hired Phoebe, an animal psychologist specializing in feline cuisine, to cuddle and feed Monster, her gargantuan cat. Phoebe agreed to drop some food into Simone’s bowl while everyone was in Cyprus.
“Just make sure that Phoebe keeps Simone secure from Monster’s curiosity.” Nazy admonished.
“Secure from Monster’s claws,” I thought.
Siblings, Grandparents and Dad
Carteret, New Jersey
(Dan lower right)
Weddings of course are about family not Siamese fish. Weddings mean family and change.
It doesn’t seem so long ago that I was the father or the son in the multi-generational photo (see left); now I’m the grandfather. And, while I believe that I’m a great grandfather, I’m less certain that I’ll make an appearance in a photo as Great-grandfather. Nevertheless, I am amazed at how little I’ve changed — and how much Darius looks like Tiger.
When Darius was very young, Nazy bought him an Atlas for his birthday. This, and, perhaps, my continual travels sparked his interest in the world. He knew (and knows) everything about every place on the planet. He was an adventurous little boy. When he was two years old, I took him on his first airplane flight — a Delta DC-8 from Memphis to Atlanta. It was a special treat because..
“He is disconcerted by Melika’s arrival,” Nazy said.
“Disconcerted?” I replied. “I wonder what Tiger will think about the arrival of his sibling,” I thought.
“He’s not always the center of attention now,” Nazy continued.
“That’s absurd,” I replied. “He is Darius; he will always be the center of attention. He exudes interestingness.”
I am happy to report that Darius shares a several of my characteristics and interests. E.g. we were both college professors.
“Yes, Dan, but you taught in Memphis, Tennessee, he has taught in Iceland and is teaching in Beirut.”
“And your point, Nazy?” I replied.
“I think his locations are a bit more, well, a bit more ‘exotic’.”
But it’s not just our professional life, it’s also our travels. We have both been to countries all over the world.
“Yes, Dan, but you go to ‘conventional’ places like Sweden and Hong Kong, he goes to challenging places like Cambodia and Venezuela.”
“I went to Iran,” I replied. “And Nigeria.” I thought.
“He went hiking in the Carpathian’s ” Nazy retorted. “The alps of Eastern Europe.”
“And I went hiking in The Alps.” I retorted.
“He lived in Iceland, Dan.”
“And I brought the whole family to Houston.”
Darius has always been adventurous, clever and caring. In Holland, he spent his allowance on flowers for his Mom. In Reykjavik, he negotiated a provisional car insurance policy from a rental agency by agreeing to pay the insurance premium if he returned with a damaged car. He did and he did. He..
“… learns languages, Dan. He can speak and understand Old Norse, French, Arabic,..”
“I can do a French accent, Nazy. And I speak American, Canadian, British, Australian..”
Now he will be getting married in about a week. We are very happy for him and for Christiane. She is a wonderful person from a great family. She has already made Darius very happy. After meeting her, Darius’ whole outlook on life changed. He stopped complaining about politics. (Except for the occasional pointed comment about the tenure and promotion committee.) He no longer said that he had ‘nothing to do in Beirut’. He is really, really happy.
And here? We’re preparing for the wedding and the trip. For me, some of the preparations are a bit baffling:
“Which tie will you wear with your gray suit?” Nazy asked.
“I’ll just grab one,” I replied. “I haven’t worn a tie since I retired,” I thought.
“I’m wearing a pale yellow dress,” Nazy continued.
“Hmm,” I mumbled. “Is this a trick question?” I thought.
“And which shoes do you want to bring?”
“My black ones?” I queried sensing that a trap was about to spring shut. “What color are your shoes, my dear?”
“Mine will match my dress, Dan.”
“Do I need pale yellow shoes?” I asked. “Or gray shoes to match my suit?”
For last week's letter, click here
Darius and Christiane
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