Red Fish, Blue Fish

I haven't done a post about my three little friends yet! I am so shocked at myself! I think a little back story is needed first though before I get to far ahead of myself. When I was little I wanted a kitty, a normal wish for a little girl, at least I didn't want a horse, cats are much cheaper, well unless they are my cat then that might be up for debate. It wasn't till I was 10 years old that I got my kitty! A friend of mine had a cat who had had a litter of kittens, and I got to meet them when they were two days old. They were so cute, all of them looked the same at that age, but as they grew older I got to help name them. Well, one night several weeks after the kittens were born I spent the night at my friends house, and the next morning when my mom came to pick me up she told me that I could keep one of the kittens. I was so excited, I even got to take him home that day. Brownie and I were inseparable. My little kitty, who when he was a baby would sleep all day and then keep me awake all night and as part of our nightly routine he would wait till I was almost asleep and then pounce on my feet, grew into the lion you see below. 

For fourteen years the two of us had the time of our lives. We were the best of friends. Eventually we grew out of the nightly foot pouncing to every time I came home from running errands or work he would greet me with a little chirp and walk me to the door. Seven months ago my best furry friend got into antifreeze while I was out of town. When that happens there is nothing that can be done. He had been playing hard to get before I went out of town, so I didn't even get to tell him good-bye. I miss him a lot. I had always wanted to get a fish while he was alive but never did since he was an avid hunter. The first time I went to the pet store after he died was hard. But while I was there I saw the Betta Fish. That day (which was less then a week after my kitty died)  I bought my first fish. His name is Spock. He's the little blue guy below.

My kitty had the bane of being named by a 10 year old, but my poor fishes came along at the beginning of my love for Star Trek. My little sisters were with me when I got Spock (who was definitely a grief purchase, one that I have been blessed by for sure) and they thought, and I think they still do think, that Spock is part theirs. They have certainly given enough interest in him and the others to almost make it seem that it were so. The funny thing about Betta fish though is that you can't just get one. At that point I had watched Voyager and the Original Series all the way through and so when I couldn't help but get another little fish I named him after my favorite Voyager character Neelix, who you see below.

The funny thing is that both Spock and Neelix act just like their namesakes. They both will take any and all attention that they can get, but Neelix will actually try to get my attention. When I chose Neelix I wanted to get another variety of Betta, one different from Spock. Spock is a Veiltail Betta and Neelix is a Crowntail Betta. Reading for them as I worked on homework and watching Star Trek with them made things so much easier. But then I finished Next Gen, and I had another favorite character and space for one more fish. Below you will find Captain Picard, a red Double-Tail Betta.

I know, how does a girl go from loosing her kitty whom she has know for all of his fourteen years of life, and the last fourteen of her own, to acquiring three Betta fish? That is something I am still figuring out for myself. But I am so in love with all three of them. They make me laugh, are always excited to see me and will flare their fins to get my attention. And yes I brought them with me from Medford. They are my little friends, and I don't know what I would do without them.