A Lesson to Consider
When I was a kid, and long
before parents became accustomed to thinking the unthinkable, I would walk the
3 miles from my grandparents’ house, up the hill, down the street, over the
bridge, and across the edge of town to a small pet shop that sold tropical
fish. This is before the days of African
cichlids, and before apistogramma, when angels were out of my price range and
old water was good water. I had 2 small
metal tanks with slate bottoms that leaked and the allowance to go with it. The fellow who ran that little shop was
patient with kids and he gave great advice.
Amateur and professional, this hobby seems to attract that type of
person.
That’s the thing that strikes
me most about this hobby – the helpfulness of everyone, the generosity, and the
honesty. So imagine my surprise this
past summer. I’d been buying on Aquabid
and never a problem. I lost a bid and the
seller contacted me to offer the same deal as the winning bid. It was a lot of money, but I wanted those
fish! I sent off the money order,
waited, asked, waited some more, and began to realize that I’d been
cheated. There’s been a warrant issued,
but he’s in
The question is “Have I
learned my lesson?” I’m not sure. Man and boy, I’ve spent 20 years in the hobby
and I’ve been cheated only once. At
every meeting, at every auction, in every email and every transaction I’ve been
met with honesty, helpfulness, and generosity.
What is it about this hobby that attracts so many generous people?
For instance, last night at
the PVAS auction I met up with John Chapkovich.
I don’t know him well, but it turns out I’ve bought his fish at 2
different auctions and he’s had some good words of advice for me when I did. Last night I had arranged to get some fish
from him outside the auction and there he was handing me the bag. He would not let me pay. The fish were free. Thank you, John. Truth is he’s not the first person to give me
free fish and there were several others at that same auction who have met me
with the same generosity in the past.
The hobby seems to attract that sort.
So back to that question,
“Have I learned my lesson?” Will I do
anything different in the future? I
think not. I’ve considered my history
and the people I’ve met and I like my odds.
There is an epilogue to the
story. A few months after being cheated
I found another seller outside