Who is the Fish Man, Anyway?
By Tim Boelema
His story starts out simply enough. He received his first fish tank at the age of ten. Soon he, along with his father and best friend, was making weekly trips to fish store. One tank led to seven tanks which were mostly home-made. He maintained these tanks until later high school years, when girls and sports became more important. He would later make up for that mistake.
After marrying and having their first child he convinced his wife that their daughter would really enjoy watching fish. They purchased a tank set-up and shortly, his addiction started anew. Little did he know that this simple act would gradually cause him to lose his identity and become the “Fish Man.”
His Addiction led him to his first “fishroom” in the spare bedroom. This room was soon outgrown and a corner of the basement was soon being used. Opening his own fish store seemed like the next logical step and his customers routinely began calling him “Fish Man”. His wife too started calling him “Fish Man” although, in a more affectionate way.
His store eventually gave way to an aquarium maintenance company. Here too, his clients always called him “Fish Man” except for the one client who called him “Python Man.” The latter was not to stick.
He knew that he had totally lost his real identity when his second daughter, now three years old, woke up from her nap and upon seeing her daddy, smiled and said, “Hello, Fish Man.”
From that point on, he would simply be known as the “Fish Man”.