Fin Pal asks Norman an Earful
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
If you’ve read Not Norman, a Goldfish Story, then you know something CRAZY happens in class that sends everyone running, screaming, chasing… everything but listening.
Can you remember a time when you were trying to say something, but no one was listening?
What makes Norman a good listener?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
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Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Poetry Challenge #226-The Think System
How about those New Year Resolutions? Did you make them? Have you kept them so far? Gulp…
According to Discover Happy Habits poll of folks who make New Year’s resolutions:
After 1 week 75% are still successful in keeping it.
After 2 weeks, the number drops to 71%.
After 1 month, the number drops again to 64%.
After 6 months, 46% of people who made a resolution are still successful in keeping it.
Notice, all those statistics are about making and keeping resolution. No one ever says we can’t revise them…
Poetry Challenge #226
The Think System
In The Music Man, Dr. Harold Hill taught the “The Think System” to folks in River City. “Think!” he implored his band students “think” the notes and to imagine themselves playing. The Think System kept Harold out of the Hoosegow. Maybe it can work for us, too.
Poetry Challenge #226
The Think System
Choose one thing you’d like to change in your life. One dream you have for yourself. One hope for the future. It might be that New Year’s Resolution you half-hardheartedly made, or maybe something you haven’t dared put into words.
“Think” of a time, a place, a reality where that change, that dream, that hope is a fait accompli. You are doing it! Living it! Being there!
Write THAT poem. Write a poem based in that new reality! Maybe this clearer image of then will help us refine and keep those resolutions now.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
What Inspires Me? #2 Dawgs!
You Dawg, you! . . . Sure, when said with a certain intonation it's a sideways compliment, but I personally never aspired to being a Dawg or Dog. Before now . . .
"I really don't want to be dog either. But, I'm not sure a bunny is better option."
What Inspires Me?
#2 Dogs!
Confession time: I read AARP magazine. (The subscription's not mine--really, it's not--It's my mother's...not that there's anything wrong with that.) Or, as they used to say about Playboy: "I read it for the articles..."
Of course I opened it. Kevin Costner aside, who can resist a lead line that reads"6 Bad Habits that are Really Healthy?
Moving on: An article titled Our Dog Years in the Dec. 2014-Jan. 2015 issue, caught my attention. (So, I'm a little behind in my reading.) OMG I thought, wanting to rip it into shreds and compost it. What's the deal with all the books and movies starring dogs? It's as though mid-life crisis, once synonymous with mistresses and souped-up convertibles, is now all about dogs. Reminds me of the play Sylvia, in which an adopted dog becomes the "other woman" in a middle-aged couple's marriage. Funny play . . . Scary thought considering how many other recent movies feature leading men who love their dogs more than humans...Richard Gere, really?
Curious about just how many mid-life dog crush movies have been published recently, I Googled "Dog-Lovers+Movies." This list popped up:
The Greatest Dog Movies of All Time
List Criteria: Films must be about dogs or feature dogs / puppies as major characters
(Turns out it's an interactive list! We--you and me--can influence each movie's placement on the list by voting. I've hyperlinked it above in case you'd like to do some investigating--voting--dog movie watching later.)
Anyway, back to the article. As a non-dog lover, I must confess it was a bit of a yawn:
The best part was the end. (No disrespect intended, David Dudley.) The article closed with a nugget of advice from neuroscientist Elizabeth Head.
Dr. Head studies aging beagles at the University of Kentucky. She’s noticed the plaques (hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease) found in aging dogs is similar to those found in humans (more similar even than those found in primates.) The reason, Head poses, might be that “living in our environment—our food, our water, our homes—has made dogs more vulnerable.” That age-related dementia might actually be a “side effect of civilization.”
If, as Head suggests, domesticating dogs has made them prone to human “Old-timers” then might the reverse be true? Rather than “Gone to the dogs,” meaning something has “gone badly wrong and lost all the good it had,” is the converse true? Maybe going to the dogs the better way? Rather than singing along, should we heed the call of the song: “Duh-duh-duh duh da- dut/duh-duh-duh duh da- dut/duh-duh-duh duh da- dut/duh-duh-duh duh da- dut/Hey baby…”
Dr. Head is confidant she will figure out how to “stop brain decline entirely in middle-age animals" (hopefully humans included). In the meantime, she's offered, via Dudley's article, this sage advice:
“Everything you do for a dog to help them age well, you should do with them”
TREAT YOURSELF AS YOU DO YOUR DOG:
Eat the best food you can afford
Go for a walk, even when it’s raining
Keep your teeth clean and your breath fresh, so that people you lick will not flinch
When someone you love walks in through the door, even if it happens five times a day, go totally insane with joy
Take your vitamins! Like these from topdogvitamins.com!
So now I'm thinking: If we can learn all this from living like a dog, what wellness tips can we learn from our cats? Or our Fish?
Living Like a Dog Playlist:
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl). All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in my “Winner-Winner Chicken Dinner” Quarterly Giveaway!
Fin Pal asks Norman "What's your Favorite Animal?"
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
A brand new year! Celebrating with 2-for-2022 with a letter and question from Finpals! Letter (with super cute drawing) first:
Finpals who are just learning to write,can tell a teacher or adult their questions for Norman T. Goldfish. (The T stand for “The” because “The” is Norman’s middle name.) Like this one:
Do you have a favorite animal? If so, why? Do you think Norman the Goldfish has a favorite animal? He sure does! Actually he has 2. Can you guess what they might be? Here’s a hint:
T also stands for “tell” and “tricks” and “tail”—as in Norman’s tail is finny and long. One of Norman’s favorite animals doesn’t live in water or have a tail. The other one only lives in water (but salt water, not fresh water). And it has a long tail—so long it can wrap it around coral or grass and hold tight during rough seas.
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
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The Longhorn Cowfish (Lactoria cornuta) inhabits the reefs of the Indo-Pacific. They are not good swimmers—but they do have horns—lust like a longhorn cow. Want to learn more about cowfish? Click here!
Wonder if cowfish say “Moooo” instead of “glug-glug”?
Did you know seahorses move by using a small fin on their back that flutters up to 35 times per second: 1-2-3…35. For more “Amazing Facts About Seahorses” click over to OneKindPlant.org.
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Poetry Challenge #225 This One's for the Birds
Click off those inside noises, pop your head outside and take a listen. Listen to the birds!
Happy Bird Day! (Jan 5th)* Different species of birds sing very different songs with different sounds and rhythms. Here are some birds and their songs (in human speak):
Chestnut-sided warbler: pleased, pleased, pleased to meet you
Whippoorwill: whip-poor-will
Chickadee: chick-a-dee-dee-dee
Common Yellowthroat: Witchity, witchity, witchity
Red-winged Blackbird: konklaree.
Ovenbird: Teacher, teacher, teacher
American Bittern: bloonk-a-doonk
Barred Owl: Who cooks for you?
Poetry Challenge #225
One For the Birds
Pick a bird from the list above (or find your own) and write a poem using the rhythm of that bird’s song. Your poem can be about a bird, or it could be the bird’s thoughts.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it! Tweet Tweet!
*Established in 2002, National Bird Day, established by Born Free USA with Avian Welfare Coalition, it’s a day to promote avian awareness—and the harsh reality that “nearly 12 percent of the world’s almost 10,000 bird species are in danger of extinction.” So . . . what can we do????
Plant 2/3rd for the Birds! What you grow in the garden can make a difference!” Here’s more at 234birds.org
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
What Inspires Me #1-Family Photo Collage
The holidays behind me, I went to bed last night with a feeling of “Tomorrow back to the same-o?” Soooo…? We all thought by 2022—all those welcoming curves and 2 two too me toos—the world would be all sunshine and light, but… Thinking maybe, like me, you too “22” need a little boost, I’m returning to a practice from those darker days of Bird Flu and empty nest syndrome: Collecting inspiration.
Each week, along with my regular posts, a 7-Minute Poetry Challenge each Wednesday & Ask Norman, response to a reader’s letter each Friday, I’m going to post What inspires Me. Here’s #1
What Inspires Me #1
Collage Art by Sharry Wright
You know all those old family photos—the ones of people you know and most especially those you can only wonder about? Sharry, a friend and fellow classmate from VCFA uses them in collage art. And her captions are the best! Check it out!
Here’s a bit of what inspired Sharry to begin creating these delightful collages:
“…found myself pouring over photos of my grandparents and great grandparents, great aunts and uncles, cousins in various categories of removal and my parents in their youth, wondering about their hopes and dreams and all of the “what-ifs” and forks in the road not taken.”-Sharry Wright
To view more of Sharry Wright’s art (and perhaps snag some of her notecards) click over to her website: SharryWright.com
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl). All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in my “Winner-Winner Chicken Dinner” Quarterly Giveaway!
WINNER of the "Goodbye 2021 WINNER-WINNER CHICKEN DINNER" QUARTERLY GIVEAWAY IS . . .
THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the “Goodbye 2021” Quarterly Giveaway is . . . Fanfare please!
Wait! Before we announce the winner, huge thanks and fishbowl love to all of you who entered this quarter’s Winner’s Choice Giveaway by subscribing to my blog, “Kelly’s Fishbowl,” sending letters & drawing to Norman the Goldfish’s advice column “Ask Norman,” or sharing snapshots of “Activities” on social media. The good news is you made our fishy hearts flutter with joy. The better news is, there weren’t as many entries as there could have been—did you forget you could enter more than one time each quarter? —so all of you who did enter have a 1 in 77 chance of winning. Talk about great odds!
In the interest of fairness, we wanted choosing the winner to be completely random random drawing. To that end, first we asked this guy to pick a winner. Now! Without further ado—Here’s Jack
And the winner is: Blanca17
Lucky Blanca17 will win dinner with a chicken or her choice of any one of these fabulous prizes:
To all of you, There’s still next time! Enter now, enter often, even better—have your kids, students, second-cousin on your goldfish’s side enter. There is no limit to how many times you enter—or WIN the Quarterly Winner-Choice Giveaway!
