[img]396|left|Alex Campbell||no_popup[/img] At the preschool where I teach, we have two pet goldfish, Copper and Kipper. They swim together in their tank like two best friends, sharing space and food. It wasn’t always this way.
We got Copper and Kipper after our beloved goldfish Goldie died. Goldie lived for 17 years (properly cared for, goldfish can live 20 years or more). Goldie would have lived a lot longer, but she was killed as a result of involuntary manslaughter. Someone poured a whole lot of fish food in the tank. It upset the pH balance in the water, which led to the demise of Goldie in the prime of her life. We had a fish funeral, complete with a bubble blowing ceremony. After a period of mourning, we were ready for new fish.
After one or two um, intermediate fish that we didn’t have time to bond with, two fancy goldfish came into our lives. We picked names out of a hat, and Copper and Kipper were the newest members of our school’s family. They were both orange, and looked very similar. It was hard to tell them apart. One day I noticed that one was slightly bigger than the other, so I deemed the bigger one Copper (my reasoning was that Copper was short for Cop, and cops were bigger and beefier—I have never shared this little factoid until now. Please withhold judgment; we had to distinguish one from the other!). The smaller one became Kipper, and life went on.
First Time Things Went Wrong
After some time, we noticed that Copper was in the habit of eating most of the food that was sprinkled down for them, even going so far as to push Kipper out of the way to get to it (no jokes about police brutality, you!). It seemed that Copper was thriving, and Kipper…well, Kipper wasn’t. He didn’t grow the way Copper did, and sometimes he swam sort of funny. He’d swim with his body vertically, and he’d get stuck in corners. He looked puny and weak, compared to Copper, who took over the tank, his gorgeous fins trailing behind like streamers in the Cirque du Soleil.
Our teacher/director, Rosie, took charge and bought a plastic divider for the fish tank. She labeled Copper a bully, and nurtured Kipper back to health. Before he got better, Kipper surprised us all by suddenly turning white, except for a little bit of his tail. I forget the exact explanation that was given to me by the man at the fish store, but apparently that happens sometimes, and is nothing to worry about. At least now we could say that Kipper was the white one and Copper was the, uh, copper-colored one. Yeah, that’s how he got his name, uh huh.
The wall remained for a few years. Don’t you know, with a little extra love and his own space, Kipper grew, swam a little more strongly, and even gained more orange color in his tail.
Guess Why?
A few weeks ago, a hole appeared in the tank divider. Kipper started going through the hole and hanging out with Copper. We didn’t tell Rosie at first; we wanted to see what would happen. I told the kids, “Look! Kipper’s at Copper’s house!” Whenever Rosie would go to feed the fish, Kipper was wise enough to be back on his side so she had no idea. When the hole was pointed out to Rosie, she bought a new divider. I was thankful that Rosie was so busy she hadn’t put the divider in yet.
One day, Kipper decided to stay over on Copper’s side when Rosie came over, just so she could see that he could do it. I held my breath. I broke the news that Kipper had been visiting Copper for a couple of weeks. She had to admit it looked as if they were both doing okay. I told her that I thought it was time to remove the wall. She said okay.
A few days later, I wrote the following in an email to the families at my school:
Dear Friends,
You all know what happened in Berlin in 1989, right? Well, do you know what happened in Brookline in 2009?
Another wall fell. The wall in the fish tank. That’s right, Friends, Copper and Kipper have settled their differences, and are now swimming peacefully side by side (many thanks to Rosie for putting up the wall in order to help Kipper realize his true size and strength).
It’s true, a few years ago a wall was needed to keep the peace between Copper and his much smaller and passive companion. But now, Friends, the wall has been removed. The fish and the organic matter in the tank helped break down the wall at first, creating a hole that Kipper would swim through. After careful observation (and waiting to tell Rosie), it was determined that Copper and Kipper could indeed live in peace and harmony together.
The slimy and now defective wall was removed by Alex today. Hopefully the tears of joy that were shed at this historic moment aided in the purification of the water that really needs to be changed.
Please stop by the fish tank at your next dropoff time and witness a friendship that has survived all odds. Tissues are available on the desk.
— The Fish Friends Forever Fan Club
The lesson here is that with proper obsession, lots of time and tender loving care, those goldfish you win at the summer carnival or buy at the pet store can live for much longer than two weeks. Unfortunately, Rosie can’t quit her day job to help you.
Ms. Campbell may be contacted at campbellalexandra@hotmail.com
