What if, after I named my children, I decided a week later that the name I chose just wasn’t cutting it? That would be horrible right? But why does it seem like its OK  to change my mind on the name I chose for my new fish? Well, regardless, I did. And I think we’re both much happier now. Uh, me and the fish, just to be clear.

I originally brought it home last Wednesday and immediately decided I would call it Slater-after the 80s show Saved By the Bell. I introduced him to people as such…but in my heart, it didn’t seem right. It didn’t have the same ease of speech as Lumi did.

So, on Tuesday night this week, I came home from work, went to greet my fish as usual, but I opened up my heart and just told him that I don’t know his name. He really was looking at me, I assure you.

“What is your name,” I pondered out loud to my fish. Chris was standing right by me, by the way. Well, not involved in fish conversation, but he was in the room.

“What do I call you…? Gill…Spencer…Toby…Harry…?”

Then Chris said, “Ira.”

Now, before I go any further, I need to give you a back story because I don’t know how familiar you are with the movie When Harry Met Sally. And, to fully appreciate the rest of the story, you need to understand this reference.

In the movie, there is this part. When Harry and Sally are in The Sharper Image playing around with a karoke machine and singing, “Surrey With The Fringe on Top” from the musical Oklahoma! 

Chics and ducks and geese better scurry. When I take you out in my surrey. When I take you out in my surrey with a fringe, on top. Now you. Sally: (With Harry singing along.) Watch that fringe and see how it flutters. When I drive those high stepping strutters. Nosy pokes will peek through the shutters and their eyes will pop.

source

So, as they are singing, Harry’s ex and her new husband, Ira, walk in and it rattles Harry to no end and he is very upset to have been seen singing “Surrey With The Fringe on Top,” in front of them.

In the next few scenes, we see Harry and Sally with their friends Jess and Marie who are trying to decide upon new apartment furnishings (read: wagon wheel coffee table…) and Harry has an out burst that looks like this:

You know it’s funny. We started out like this, Helen and I. We had blank walls, we hung things, we picked out tiles together.Then you know what happens? Six years later you find yourself  singing:

“Surrey with a fringe on top” in front of Ira!

source

Back to Tuesday night during my soul-search for a new name for my fish. Chris says, “Ira,” and I start to think, “But we don’t like Ira…” But then as I open my mouth to recite the Surrey on Top line as it was entering my brain, Chris says, “We’ll name him Ira, so that we can stand here and sing ‘Surrey with the Fringe on Top’ IN FRONT OF IRA!“

As if he had reached into my mouth and hand-picked the words I was going to speak. We roared in laughter and new right then that Ira would be his name. We shall sing, “Surrey With the Fringe on Top” in front of Ira, and he will be an abundantly happy fish.

The End