Keene works on the farm every now and then, exercising fate, helping his mother Nicole Tanton farm sit and pet sit and stack firewood. Nicole is also a vet tech at the Cambridge Veterinary Clinic, she helps keep Red in shape.

Both of them are hard workers, we appreciate having them in our lives. Earlier in the week, Nicole called to say Keene had won a single goldfish at the county fair and I immediately offered to give Keene our old 20 gallon fish tank. He  loved having a fish, he needed to borrow some food.

I winced a bit, county fairs are not the best place to get goldfish, they are the backyard breeders of the fish world. Not many happy endings.

Today, Nicole texted me and said the goldfish had died – no surprise – and so she was going to return the tank. She seemed done with the fish idea, although Keene was not.

This bugged me and I called her up and urged her and Keene not to quit on the fish or the tank.

I’ll give them a couple of my fish, I said, and order the right filter for them, and will coach Keene, who was desperate to have a fish tank, on how to care for it properly.

Nicole listened, and then laughed, she told Keene that I was on the phone yelling at her, which was sort of true. She said I was crazy.

I   urged them both not to be quitters, and Nicole relented and Keene was thrilled. I told them to fill up the tank and let it sit for four or five days. I’ll donate some fish and gravel and the filter.

Nicole texted me to tell me Keene is very happy and she appreciates my calling up and yelling at her. No quitters, I said, a healthy tank is very possible and not that hard to do.

It felt good and Maria was laughing all day at my harangue on the phone. “You’re very nice sometimes,” she said, “but also crazy.” This is so, it seems to be a broad consensus.

More later.