Mar 20th, 2005
Norooz
For those of you who don’t know, the Persian New Year is Norooz. The word literally translates to “New Day” and this is because it marks the beginning of the Persian solar year.
There is a lot of other significance attributed to Norooz, but I don’t really know any more about it. Actually, for me, Norooz really means getting a gift, and my Mom setting up a “Norooz-shrine” that consists of seven objects that begin with the letter “S” in Persian.
These objects usually include the following:
- Apples
- Caramel-like sweets with almond slices that I usually eat in less than one day
- A plate of wheat
- Several goldfish
- A cranberry-like dried fruit that is allegedly edible
- A hyacinth
- A buttery sauce that is made of an unknown substance
The assortment actually smells quite nice at first, usually on account of the hyacinth, but then the goldfish die and it starts reeking of dead fish.
This year, my cat actually destroyed the hyacinth at the outset, so I knew I would have to alter my Norooz strategy if I was to avoid the dead fish smell. That, and, I sort of felt sorry for the goldfish because they were floating around in a tiny little bowl that quickly became filled with their own waste-matter, and they hadn’t eaten anything in two days. After I began to observe dark circles forming around their eyes, I decided something had to be done.
My first thought was to go to the pet store and buy them fish food. I quickly shot down that idea when I realized it would take actual effort and time.
My second thought was to go through my herb cabinet in an attempt to find something that resembled fish food. I finally settled on dry parsley, but soon realized that the fish had absolutely no interest in eating the dried parsley (nor would I) after sprinkling several pinches into their bowl.
Finally, I decided that the most time-efficient and humane thing to do would be to just take the goldfish into Rock Creek Park and set them free.
So, after my Monday staff call, I grabbed the bowl and drove to the creek (only 5 minutes away from my house). I walked up to the creek, and dumped the fish into the water.
One of the goldfish immediately swam headfirst into a rock, and then sat there stunned, while the other goldfish, which had been poured headfirst into the dirt, attempted to wriggle free.
Sighing, I found a small branch and poked at the fish stuck in the mud, until it freed itself and swam upstream. Looking over at the other fish, I realized that the pathetic bastard was utterly confused about what to do and had decided to just float near the rock where it had bumped its head. After watching the flabbergasted fish for a few minutes, I realized I had to be home for another call in a few minutes, so without further hesitation, I started throwing pebbles at it until it decided to swim upstream and hide behind a rock.
Satisfied that both fish had successfully embarked on their new lives, I hopped in my car and returned home to finish off the caramel candies in my Norooz-shrine.
