Fishing for fun

In Baltimore, we have the National Aquarium, a must-see stop with tanks full of fish for spectating tourists who will later head out for a seafood dinner.

In Brooklyn, New York, they have a puddle, and they're making a BFD (big fish deal) about it.

It's not a really deep puddle, just a little lagoon by a leaky fire hydrant where people keep placing goldfish who need a new home.

It seems like no matter what the cause is, you can always find someone willing to label themselves an "advocate" for it, and so there are people so invested in this tiny sidewalk lake that they have started, you guessed it, a GoFundMe campaign.

People who moan about the horrid state of the American economy will be cheered to hear that as of last week, people had dug $1100 out of their pockets to try to "help build a better habitat for the fishes to thrive and also funds for food and an outside ventilation system for them so they can survive through the seasons, so the community can continue to enjoy the beauty of nature. We appreciate all and any support we can get to help the fire hydrant goldfish."

I'll show you the "pond" in a sec, but some in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood up there in B'klyn are laughing at the effort to even call it that.

But..."We don’t have an aquarium, so it's good as we're going to get," Laura Dexter, a Bed-Stuy resident, says.

If you still have vacation time left, head on up to the corner of  Tompkins Avenue and Hancock Street, 11216, and bring your camera! Because it's become quite the local cause. Just ask local Ken Garner, who says, "Everybody takes a turn. Did you feed the fish? Did you check on the fish?"

It all started when Je-Quan Irving and his buddies invested $16 at a pet shop. That got the 100 goldfish, many of which are still bobbing around in the sidewalk spa.

But...someone turned to the expert in the situation, and that would be Julius Tepper, DVM, who runs the Long Island Fish Hospital.

They really DO have everything in New York!

Dr Tepper points out, "You’ve got issues with pollution that could be a problem. You've got issues with predatory birds."

What's more, a crew from the city's Department of Environmental Protection crews showed up last week and shut off the trickling hydrant.

And folks are showing up with red Solo Cups, scooping up guppies to take them to safer surroundings.

And as soon as the crew took off, someone opened the water flow again, vowing to keep the mini-aquarium going until the cold weather arrives.

You'll remember from the time you read The Catcher In The Rye that Holden Caulfield was all worked up about what happened to the goldfish in Manhattan in wintertime: 

"If you was a fish, Mother Nature'd take care of you, wouldn't she? Right? You don't think them fish just die when it gets to be winter, do ya?"

This is the scene of the piscine pandemonium. We'll keep you posted!