Naming fish; was Re: Is Elmo (Sesame Street) a "Friend of Dorothy"

[Barbara Need]

>     Last week I watched a Sesame Street episode in which Elmo refers
>to his goldfish by name (Dorothy).  Now, when I was a child I had
>goldfish and tropical fish, and it never occurred to me to give any
>of them a name.  So to me, Elmo's referring to the goldfish by name
>indicates a special relationship between the two--a genuine
>friendship--at least from Elmo's side.  Whether Dorothy's
>reciprocates the friendship, I can't say; I just haven't watched
>enough episodes.

Well, we named out goldfish in the 1960s: Snoopy and the Red Baron
(the latter was slightly reddish). I think Snoopy lived longer.
Naming them did not indicate any closely felt relationship.

Barbara

Barbara Need
UChicago

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