"Just Like A Fish Out Of Water!"
June 8, 2001 story, eight
The Ordeal!
Another fish story...Mule is his name. He's a hybrid, and as a fry I called him quasi-koi. When he grew bigger, I began to call him Mule. I thought Mule sounded a bit more dignified. He's a high-spirited little guy, and like his koi buddies, he's gentle and friendly.. He's not the least bit shy like my friend Ron's fish. He has a pond full of bashful fish. They hide deep in the bowels of the pond, only to come up to nip their floating food, than dart back down silently and deeply! So, I come up with another great idea... I'll give Mule to Ron, so that maybe Mule can influence Ron's skittish fish to become a smidgen more spirited...
Moving day... It was a warm spring evening, I net Mule, drop him into a five gallon bucket and throw the bucket into the back of my station wagon for the trip to his new pond...later that same evening...Joann and I are sharing a pondside drink..."So, how'd it go at Ron's today?" she inquires. "Oh fine I guess, Mule survived the ordeal."
"The ordeal?" she quizzes. "Yeah, I say, "the poor little guy"..."the poor little guy?", she says. "Yeah," I say... "Well tell me, what happened," she says. "O.K., well first I dropped him in the bucket and threw him into the back of my wagon and.... "with water in the bucket?" she quips." "Oh yeah," I say, "and it's a good thing that I remembered the water, because that's what saved his life!" "Why is that?" she probes." "Because of the splash!" I say.
"The splash?" She says. "Yeah, the splash... I'm driving along the highway and I hear a splash, I think that maybe Mule is just having a little jump, so I look in the rear view mirror and catch Mule lying on his side, on the bed of the wagon.... "Out of the water?" She cracks! "Of course, he jumped out of the bucket!" I say, "But, how could ya see into the bed of the wagon from the front seat?" she inquires. "Oh yeah, that is the amazing part, it was because of the sun...
"The sun?" she says. Yup, the sun! "It was hitting the back window just right, so that when I looked into the rear view mirror, I could see Mule's reflection in the back window, from my rear view window, it was like a hologram, like the.... " hologram in the haunted house in Disney?" she interrupts. "Yeah, just like that," I say. "Wow, that is amazing... so, what did you do then?" she queries, "Well, first I pull the car over and jump out...I open my trunk, and there is Mule lying on his side breathing heavy like a fish out of water and... "Then what did you do ?" she says "Well first I picked him up and brushed off all the pine needles and.... "The pine needles?" she says. "Yeah, the pine needles!" I say."What pine needles!?! she says! "The pine needles that he rolled in... "He rolled in pine needles?" she says. "Yeah!, I say, the pine needles in my trunk from..."Oh nooo!"..."you mean from last years Christmas tree!?!" she says, "Yes, yes!" I say..
"Unbelieveable!"...she says, pausing to sigh deeply ..."Well, hurry up tell me, what did you do then?"..."I mean to be more specific, what did you do with Mule, after you brushed off the pine needles!?!" she asks! "Well, what do you think I did!?! I exclaimed, "I grabbed the fish in my two hands, ran into the middle of traffic, flaring my arms and screaming... "Is there a Ichthyologist in the house!!!" ... Joann is still cracking up...This is a true story... snicker...Cliff
That's why I was confused I had to save it to YouTube first. It's easy, though, JW ... go for it! 
