A View of the World

"Once upon a time" I won a goldfish at a circus and cradled the half-water-filled zip lock bag in my cupped palms. The goldfish survived the D train, rush hour and three city blocks.

My grandmother gave me the largest glass in the kitchen and we transferred Sophia Fish , her name, to the glass. We placed the glass on a sunny window ledge and my grandmother became Sophia's guardian angel.

Sophia was my first pet and I became the first of my friends to have a nascent aquarium. After three months of confining quarters and my grandmother's penchant for overfeeding, Sophia died.

I recalled all this when I went into an old farmhouse at a Bonsai garden tour and stumbled upon two incredible fish tanks.

I never did purchase a proper fish tank nor did I ever own another fish. What tank could reflect the sun or hold a fish that swam lazily around in circles?

"Time flows away like the water in the river."
—Confucious