tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post305822571002813788..comments2024-03-18T10:29:46.055+00:00Comments on Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff: A Fish Called LazarusKen Armstronghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-63108350398977133622009-03-28T00:26:00.000+00:002009-03-28T00:26:00.000+00:00We had a similar experience. We had a koi which, t...We had a similar experience. We had a koi which, to our horror, ended up on the kitchen floor by accident when we were moving house. He survived and went on to live for years.Dominic Rivronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02618013365521035400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-65089202586232770972009-03-23T22:29:00.000+00:002009-03-23T22:29:00.000+00:00Jim: Oh Jim, thanks for this. I would have really...Jim: Oh Jim, thanks for this. I would have really not believed the Chocolate Talking Catfish without the link. <BR/><BR/>"He didn't actually talk but if you took him out of the tank he'd croak at you to put him back." <BR/><BR/>Priceless! :)Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-20692576969217665882009-03-22T06:49:00.000+00:002009-03-22T06:49:00.000+00:00About a year or so ago we got a goldfish. I picked...About a year or so ago we got a goldfish. I picked one with a little black mark on his lip that looked like a moustache and he was going to be called 'Charlie' but the black mark vanished after a week or so and he's just been 'Fishy' every day since. He recently became too big for his bowl and so he's been relocated to a proper tank beside the bird's cage. 'Birdy' is pretending to be totally indifferent to the new arrival but every now and then I catch him peeking at me as I feed his neighbour. The bowl on my desk has now been taken over by a collection of snails, 'The Sluggies' who are surprisingly beautiful creature I have to admit and I spend far more time watching them than I ever did 'Fishy'.<BR/><BR/>In ony of my previous lives I had an Oscar called 'Oscar' who also outgrew his tank and we had to take him back to the pet shop. He used to jump out of the tank and grab the food straight out of my hand. One day of course in his enthusiasm to be fed he missed my hand completely and wound up on the hall carpet and a very surprised fish he was I can tell you. <BR/><BR/>I liked the fish tank I had back then. I used to have a shark who lived in one of those wee castles pointing vertically up or down. Every now and then I'd pull out the castle from around him and he's go and do the same in a corner of the tank till I put it back. And he was a big fish too - he was the same height practically as the castle.<BR/><BR/>The other fish I has in that tank which was unusual was 'Mars Bar' - he was a <A HREF="http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?id=618" REL="nofollow">Chocolate Talking Catfish</A>. He didn't actually talk but if you took him out of the tank he'd croak at you to put him back.Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-41948530472187976032009-03-17T12:47:00.000+00:002009-03-17T12:47:00.000+00:00gemmak: Ah but when you peeled them off the bath ...gemmak: Ah but when you peeled them off the bath were they really dead? That is the question.<BR/><BR/>(Who's that at the door? It's us, the Zombie Goldfish) :)Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-11019300690215486932009-03-17T10:42:00.000+00:002009-03-17T10:42:00.000+00:00Yup...as a kid I had a number of goldfish who resi...Yup...as a kid I had a number of goldfish who resided on the bathroom windowsill...and were one by one peeled off the bottom of the (empty) bath :o(gemmakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12575349964533883253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-8003702338558106682009-03-16T23:44:00.000+00:002009-03-16T23:44:00.000+00:00Watch out for the pleco with the goldfish. My expe...Watch out for the pleco with the goldfish. My experience is that the plec likes to slurp on the goldie's slime coat after midnight when things get sloooow around the tank.<BR/><BR/>I sat up one night and watched him do it, he mad Lazarus sick with his vampire-like-slurping so back to the pleco shop he jolly-well-went. :)Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-61103384590915918222009-03-16T23:32:00.000+00:002009-03-16T23:32:00.000+00:00:'( awwwww the same happened keith with the fishie...:'( awwwww the same happened keith with the fishies i bought him for his birthday one year, he still has one left but the other 2 died, one in horrendous circumstances! they got sucked into the filter one day when it broke and we wernt there :( Keith found them and it was horribly upsetting :( the other got fin rot and was very ill so we had to use the clove oil :(<BR/><BR/>we now have a tank full of happy fish, a goldie, shabunkin, pleco and a shole of minnows! :) <BR/><BR/>them and a 200 G tank with 2 turtles:) love our babies :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-4899730512614184522009-03-16T18:43:00.000+00:002009-03-16T18:43:00.000+00:00Laura: You write great comments. always a treat. ...Laura: You write great comments. always a treat. :)<BR/><BR/>Reggie: I am such an enigma to myself that I have no real idea whether then passing of the fish was emotional or not. (Truth). :)<BR/><BR/>Poetikat: We move in ever decreasing circles. I loved your Irish posts this week, well done.Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-63020046921220769712009-03-16T17:07:00.000+00:002009-03-16T17:07:00.000+00:00I'm thinking it's time to call Guinness, don't you...I'm thinking it's time to call Guinness, don't you?<BR/><BR/>Here's a little poem I wrote in tribute to another blogger whose goldfish flew the coop (er, tank):<BR/><BR/>Ha ha! When I went to get the link, Ken, I noticed you had commented and linked me back to your "Lazarus".<BR/><BR/>http://hyggedigter.blogspot.com/2008/08/while-im-awaya-tidbit.html<BR/><BR/>KatKat Mortensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16877694888419628533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-28962225226925274222009-03-16T03:03:00.000+00:002009-03-16T03:03:00.000+00:00I'm sorry to hear that Lazarus/Goldie has passed. ...I'm sorry to hear that Lazarus/Goldie has passed. The passing of any pet is always an emotional one, especially for the primary caregiver. <BR/><BR/>There seems to be a lot of passing of people and things lately. I suppose it could have something to do with the coming of spring and the promise of new beginnings.<BR/><BR/>{{hugs}}Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-36661278005011994962009-03-16T00:58:00.000+00:002009-03-16T00:58:00.000+00:00Now you made me feel bad and people like PETA will...Now you made me feel bad and people like PETA will no doubt be barging through my door with sticks and stones, tar and feathers. <BR/><BR/>We kept a big fish tank in the basement in the house where I grew up. (West Rouge, east end of Toronto, should you have a map fetish). There were assorted guppies, swordfish, zebra and angelfish. Cleaner types and black mollies and of course goldfish. <BR/><BR/>We had a lid but as the goldfish grew they heaved the lid off the tank along with their bodies. We never gave them a chance to Lazarus themselves. They all went down, down to the deep blue... errr... toilet in the sea. <BR/><BR/>These days we have goldfish in the pond outside. Have yet to see them survive the winter though the pond is supposed to be deep enough. I don't mind. They are great, cheap compost for the garden each Spring. They eat bugs and mosquitos eggs/ larva all Summer and the frogs that visit seem to like them too. I don't name any of them. I did with one, the only white one. But he (notice that it is always he when something stupid comes up, :P) let himself get sucked into the water pump. He was much whiter then. Pretty dead too, no Lazarus there. <BR/><BR/>Pretty neat that Goldie had offspring. None of ours did that. Likely too stupid to stay in the tank long enough.Laura Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06774385463320319572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-15149987948873241822009-03-15T22:43:00.000+00:002009-03-15T22:43:00.000+00:00Zorlone: Thanks, plecostomus is a great name, isn...Zorlone: Thanks, plecostomus is a great name, isn't it? A bit like a dinosaur. :)<BR/><BR/>Susan: Beloved Son got a v cool electric guitar (Red). I wish I was my own son sometimes. :)<BR/><BR/>Max: I'm always glad when you stop by mate. Always. :)<BR/><BR/>Debbie: giving the poor fishie hot baths... for shame!! :)<BR/><BR/>Margaret: That's what he brought, a little piece. I've found I resent being asked to take care of things, then I come to love doing it. Odd.<BR/><BR/>Matt: Imagine what a berk like me would have done to the neighbour's cat if he ate my fish!! :)<BR/><BR/>Reese: Thank you, I actually went to the tank today to feed him and he wasn't there...Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-89438184814841869702009-03-15T20:46:00.000+00:002009-03-15T20:46:00.000+00:00So sorry to hear about the fish's passing. The de...So sorry to hear about the fish's passing. The death of any pet is hard. (I have a story for each one of my dearly departed)<BR/>Blessings!<BR/><BR/>ReeseReesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673945616719205743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-55447727838921381352009-03-15T16:13:00.000+00:002009-03-15T16:13:00.000+00:00Nice post...I was so sure you were going to tell m...Nice post...I was so sure you were going to tell me the neighbor's cat got him, but then that would be another story!Matthew S. Urdanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15423237354496730048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-720452993973784512009-03-14T22:50:00.000+00:002009-03-14T22:50:00.000+00:00My condolences. I'm glad Lazarus/Goldie was able t...My condolences. I'm glad Lazarus/Goldie was able to bring peace into your life before he left for the bridge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-11204717292488718182009-03-14T20:59:00.000+00:002009-03-14T20:59:00.000+00:00sorry for your loss. I must confess, we once had ...sorry for your loss. <BR/><BR/>I must confess, we once had a goldfish named Freddy Krueger. I tried giving him hot baths and still he lived on. When the time finally came to flush him into the ecosystem, I was not sure he wouldn't return one night while I was sleeping to get even. My sons loved him, mom, prefers her fish with rice.Debbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15059528663560612371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-47465324625777503922009-03-14T15:31:00.000+00:002009-03-14T15:31:00.000+00:00What a delightful story. I'm glad I stopped by tod...What a delightful story. I'm glad I stopped by today. Take care, Ken.Relax Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01051381168322495999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-91752035825714547062009-03-14T14:02:00.000+00:002009-03-14T14:02:00.000+00:00What an amazing gift, this fish! Choosing to bow o...What an amazing gift, this fish! <BR/><BR/>Choosing to bow out on Friday the 13th on Birthday Eve is rather a grand finale; I'm proud of him. Her. Him. Goldie. Lazarus. You know who I mean. RIP, little fella.<BR/><BR/>So what's Son getting for his birthday this year, that could top Goldie? and oh yeah-- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!Susan at Stony Riverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10385202649291774852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-52914620473123661482009-03-14T13:51:00.000+00:002009-03-14T13:51:00.000+00:00A very touching story with some twists of humor. I...A very touching story with some twists of humor. It brought me to the time when I used to have a fish tank. Too bad, there was no place for the tank when we moved to a different house and left the it at my grand dad's house with a plecostomus inside. It died, the plecostomus,i.e.. <BR/>Great style!zorlonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04315933650875557697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-58166467186660013432009-03-14T13:25:00.000+00:002009-03-14T13:25:00.000+00:00Hope: My hairdresser in London (I wish I could say...Hope: My hairdresser in London (I wish I could say he was a barber but he just wouldn't)showed me his two fish tanks at his house where I used to go for haircuts.<BR/><BR/>He claimed he separated his two fishes into different tanks after they were quarreling but he got up one morning and the two fish were back in one tank - a gargantuan jump on the part of one fish.<BR/><BR/>I didn't believe him then, I kind of do now.<BR/><BR/>(Note to Self: I have a great John the Hairdresser story which I must post sometime... it's gone into the blog post notebook now.)<BR/><BR/>Jena: I don't think fish have souls but what in God's name do I know? :) I will remember him for doing as much good for me as I did for him and that's a fine Karmic compliment.<BR/><BR/>Carol: I think think there'll be another fish in the near future, no. My relationship was finny (a typo but I think I'll leave it) in that I could go on a fishing trip and massacre many of his compatriots without a second thought but Lazz got the 4 star treatment up to the end and beyond. Strange.<BR/><BR/>Rachel: A small envelope of fivers is always welcome. :)Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-84130497854531117342009-03-14T10:03:00.000+00:002009-03-14T10:03:00.000+00:00Ken who brings fish back from the dead! And how sh...Ken who brings fish back from the dead! And how shall we worship thee oh lord?<BR/>xRachel Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11803852725693518924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-32563934339498341382009-03-14T05:13:00.000+00:002009-03-14T05:13:00.000+00:00That's a lot longer than I've ever kept a fish, Ke...That's a lot longer than I've ever kept a fish, Ken. Hats off to you! (Hope nothing jumps out, though.)<BR/><BR/>D'ya think you'll get another fish?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-11482251438600872442009-03-14T02:49:00.000+00:002009-03-14T02:49:00.000+00:00May His soul res in peace. I was thinking do fish ...May His soul res in peace. I was thinking do fish have souls? I'm sure his life had been worthwhile for he had been a source of joy to you and your family. As they say, it is not the length of our lives that matters , it is how we lived it. lol.<BR/><BR/>Cheers and happy blog hopping.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-28936453200703582982009-03-13T21:59:00.000+00:002009-03-13T21:59:00.000+00:00Sorry to hear that this time Lazarus has truly pas...Sorry to hear that this time Lazarus has truly passed on.<BR/><BR/>Goldfish are remarkably durable. :) I "inherited" one named Bubbles from the little boy across the street when his military family moved. I think the little boy believed it was an engagement present, as he swore to return and marry me. We were 8 [Bubbles was about 4]. I'd helped clean the fish bowl before and learned an important fact: Bubbles would thrash about if you came at him with a net, but if you put your hand in the water, he would swim into your palm and allow himself to be placed in temporary quarters while you cleaned his house.<BR/><BR/>A few months later, Dad bought another goldfish, which we immediately named "Trouble". Why? Because he CONSTANTLY jumped out of the bowl! Every morning, the first kid up would check the counter for Trouble, scoop him up and drop him back into the bowl. Bubbles lasted for almost 10 years. As for Trouble...well one day we didn't rise early enough and he had no Lazarus in him.<BR/><BR/>Interesting...I referred to both our fish as "He" and I don't have a clue what either was...except fun.hopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03306622656461205674noreply@blogger.com