Mermaid Rachael
For a brief period of time in my career as a psychologist I worked with returning veterans and their families. On one occasion, a emaciated, very stressed young man came to my office for an initial evaluation. He had barely sat in the seat near my desk when he leaned over the wastebasket by the desk and vomited. It seemed quite natural and he hardly missed a beat as he went on telling me why he was there. It didn't involve the vomiting, by the way. That episode reminded me of an old story about the psychiatrist who was interviewing a person for the first time and asked him to recount how his morning began. The man said: "Well, I usually wake up by about 6AM. I go to the bathroom, relieve myself, vomit, brush my teeth, take a shower....." The psychiatrist interrupts and says: "Wait a minute. You said you relieve yourself, then vomit. Every morning?" The man said: "Yes. Doesn't everybody?"
Well, last week I had a mermaid in my swimming pool. Some people I told about it said: "Really?" My response was: "Doesn't everybody"? Well, if they don't they should. Everybody needs a manifestation of a mythical creature actually appear in their lives from time to time just for the hell of it. Otherwise how can we keep our imaginations alive and healthy? My mermaid is named Rachael and she is about ready to finish classes and take her boards to become a nurse practitioner. Well, a girl/fish has to have something to fall back on....and it beats working for scale : ).
Goodby for now. "Thanks for the fish."