Turn the Light on Will Ya'

Three years ago we delved into the world of salt water fish'ism.

We bought a 60 gallon tank and set it up in our front room. When we bought it, we didn't have available to us all the newer fangled models with the filters and skimmers stowed under the tank, ours was hanging off the back of the tank in plain view. (think small town thus not many aquariums stores; as in one.)

During the time we've had the tank, we've only had two occasions of fish mortality. One, was when we went to Italy and there was a power failure, and the other time was a few months ago when two fish died mysteriously in the dead of the night days just days apart.

That left us with a tang, a big fat ole tomato clownfish named Ernie (for Ernest Borgnine), a scooter blenny and some other fish that hides in the crevices of the live rock. It was time to get a couple of replacements.

Off we go to the relatively new aquarium shop. WOW! What selections! What pretty fish! Hey, wait! Do you see these tanks? All the stuff sits UNDER here????

We go in for a fish and come out lots of dollar$ later with a new tank to be installed that night.

I would say they saw us coming but this purchase was way too overdue for us to be "marks".

The old tank, and hubby would disagree with me, looked like something you would see in a college dorm room or in some teenager's room.

We thought it was easy to clean; once a month we would crank up the music and for an hour both get cracking, I scrubbed down filters and pumps even using toothbrushes to get out every speck of algae or waste.

Cleaning this new tank?

Pulling out two sponges and rinsing them and rinsing a plastic cup. That's it for me. Hubby still has water to change and algae to scrape off the sides but I can do my part in about 5 minutes and sit back and watch him. (probably won't happen but a girl can dream). But he doesn't have to disconnect everything from the tank so I can clean it so it should save him at least half the time he would've spent.

So the guy comes over to install the new tank.

About a couple of hours before I had asked hubby to go ahead and find the spotlight that we would need in the front room, more of an office, since the lighting in there isn't the most illuminating. He pooh poohed me.

Okay.

The guy and hubby starts working and more light is definitely needed. Hubby goes to get the spotlight.

He can't find it.

Deja vue I tell ya'.

"Where did you move the spotlight?" he asks me.

"I didn't touch it" I replied.

"You must have, it's not in the garage."

"Did you look on the shelf?"

"Yes, oh wait a minute, maybe it is in the pool house." Off he goes to search in there.

Our youngest daughter had come over and she was watching and hearing this with a look of amusement on her face. "Dad can't find the spotlight?" she asks.

"Nope, he says I moved it."

"Why would you want a spotlight?"

" I have no clue. But apparently there is some reason he thinks I would."

He comes back in the house and says " Okay, where is it? You told me to look for it before he got here. Is this some sort of joke?"

"No" I replied, "It is not a joke. I knew you probably didn't know where it was. Did you look on the shelf by the garage fridge?"

"Yes, I looked there. I looked everywhere. It's not there. I bet oldest daughter has it!"

'Why would she have it?"

"She might have needed it and took it and forgot to bring it back. Remember the shop vac?"

I looked at him strangely and said " All of our girls have used the shop vac."

"Yes, but she kept it the longest."

"No, youngest daughter did but that has nothing to do with a spotlight."

"Give me her cell phone number, I'm calling her."

"She's going to think you are nuts and it's 9 o'clock at night".

"Just give me the number."

The conversation goes like this;

"Hello.. do you have my spotlight?" he asks her.

"Well I don"t know, maybe to paint at night. I don't know what for, you just take stuff, remember the shop vac? "

The conversation ends there - no at night spotlight painting being done by her.

Youngest daughter says "Dad, you want me to look for it?"

He sighs and says "You won't find it. I looked everywhere. Either your mother moved it and can't remember where it is or worse yet, can't remember that she even moved it, or one of you kids has it."

"I'll just have a look anyway" she calmly replied.

Not a minute later we hear from the garage, "What will you give me if I find it?"

"WHERE WAS IT?" he jumps up and yells.

In she comes holding the spotlight.

"Dad, it was right on the shelf in the garage."

"Did you put it back?" he looks straight at me.

"No honey." I say as he is plugging it in.

Youngest daughter and I look at each other and smile.

He thinks he can hear too.