Ode to Roy

Allow me to acquaint you with Roy. He is a yellow-orange fish we had since our good ol' days in Mobile. He struggled with obsessive compulsive disorder, made manifest in the form of continuous, never-ceasing swimming of laps. We think he may have become blind, as we noticed him sometimes bumping into the sides of the aquarium. Despite these setbacks, Roy was a happy fish.
But alas! Shortly before Jarett came along, Roy developed problems with his swim bladder, which is an organ that fish use to control how far from the bottom they go. Roy's usual relentless efforts to swim along the side of the tank became an exhausting battle to stay off the bottom. Eventually he was so worn out that he spent his days lying on the rocks, with an occasional, weak burst of effort that would carry him to the next rock. Needless to say, Camden and I couldn't watch him suffer so. We lovingly transported Roy to the porcelain bowl, where a solemn few words were expressed before we flushed him to the world beyond. We here memorialize our dear old friend. We were blessed to have known him.

In Loving Memory

(Our hearts go out to Roy's friend, Ref, who has been with him from the beginning. Ref is currently suffering the same swim bladder issues. We take comfort in knowing that he will be reunited with Roy in the near future.)