Emma and Valerie

     Yesterday when my friend was holding Emma, she caught sight of Valerie, my goldfish. They had a brief staring contest. I've had Valerie for three years, and how I came to have her is a funny story.
     When I was teaching, the science teacher on our team had a tank with a turtle, appropriately named Tank, in the back of the classroom. During our teacher team meetings, we would sometimes take Tank out of his tank to let him/her crawl around the classroom. Anyway, to feed Tank, the science teacher each week would purchase tiny feeder fish. At the beginning of the week, you might count ten or so tiny fish, and as the week progressed the number would decline. I never could figure out how slow, lumbering Tank was able to catch the elusive little fish.

     One day when I returned to my eighth grade classroom, I found a spring water bottle with a note on my desk. The note had a skull and crossbones and the message: "Ms. Smith, DON'T DRINK THIS WATER. Underneath it said,"My name is Blue; I'm a gift for you" and it was signed "Robert, Your Favorite Student." Later that day I went to the science room to see whether the teacher knew that some of the fish had been liberated. She did indeed know, and she gave me another tiny fish to keep Blue company. Sadly, Blue lasted only a day or two, but Valerie, who I named after the science teacher, has continued to thrive. When I brought her home, she was the size of a guppy, but just look at her now. :-)
     Emma has had many visitors the last few days, and she is a big hit with everyone. She is very friendly and loves to play and run. Oh, and one more thing, she has very sharp puppy teeth - OUCH!