It was years before I discovered the real reason behind my tragic babysitting of the neighbor’s fish tank. In 1970, the next-door neighbor commissioned me to care for their fish while they took an extended vacation. The day before they left, I went over to their house to get instructions on how to properly maintain their rather large fish tank, which housed dozens of exotic fish. , mostly Gold. I was excited because it was good money for a boy of thirteen. I didn’t know anything about fish or how to take care of them, so my ‘qualifications’ were nil, but my intent to do a good job was real. Mrs. Jones was very nice and gave my instructions on how to feed the fish. The instructions were rather simple. Pour some of the fish food on top of the water, and they will eat it. She gave me a visual example by sprinkling some of the food on top of the water. As soon as she did so, the fish swam up to the top and they started to eat. I mean, even a simpleton could do this. Boy, I thought, I’m into the easy money.

The Joneses were going out of town for a week, so on day one, I went over and did as she had shown me. I sprinkled some food on the top of the water, and the fish swarmed to the top, eating all the food in seconds. I thought, “Wow, they are really hungry!” So naturally, I sprinkled a little bit more, which they again ate in seconds. I poured a little more food on top, and they continued to eat at a rate I had never seen. I felt bad, leaving them hungry, but I only had so much food. I left feeling a little uneasy. I felt bad leaving them hungry. So the next day when I went back a couple of them were floating on the top, dead! “They died of starvation”, I thought. So I made sure I fed them plenty that day. When I returned, the top of the water was filled with dead fish. I was beside myself. Remember, this is a day way before the Internet and computers. Information was at a premium back then. So I kept feeding those starving fish, and still, day after day, the stench of dead fish greeted me every day I came back. By the end of the week, no fish were swimming in my neighbor’s tank. I fretted the return and report, but that day came.

When the Joneses arrived home, I was there to greet them. I stood in the driveway telling Mrs. Jones the sad tale of how I had starved her fish to death. To my surprise, she was understanding and insisted that she pay me for my efforts. I will never forget her understanding nature, the warmth of her face, and the gracious way she calmed me down and made me feel “OK.” It wasn’t till years later that I found out that overfeeding fish can kill them. In hindsight, I’m sure that is what I did. Goldfish and other types of fish will eat themselves to death if you overfeed them.

Kindness never gets old and acts of kindness never seem to die. They live on in the hearts of all those who have experienced the joy that comes from receiving mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. I’m sure Mrs Jones is long gone from this earth. But, in a tiny way she lives on in the heart of a young boy, now grow old. And that’s my “fish” story. It’s not exaggerated, and it’s not embellished. What is ‘bigger’ is my appreciation that continues to grow through the years for a woman who gave me more than just money that day. She taught me that mercy and kindness are worth much more than 52 Goldfish who met their maker in the summer of 1970.