Where do I begin? Though I don't want to bore you, I do want to be thorough enough so that you can get the whole picture.

I am a 47 year young male, was shackled in marriage 20 years - have been a single parent for 5 years. I have two children. My son Jason (19), is totally into Drum Corps International and is gone on tour for the summer with "Spirit of Atlanta" Drum & Bugle Corp. He teaches part-time as a drumline instructor for South Cobb High School from which he and his sister are graduates. My daughter Diana (18), is totally into shoes (1st) and boys (2nd) and is a very gifted artist (if I say so myself) who will be attending Young-Harris College in the North Georgia mountains this fall. Just in case you're wondering, they both get their good looks from their Dad.

The Fanatic, son Jason and daughter Diana. A more recent picture of my kids is at the bottom of this page.

Aside from lots of goldfish, we also have a dog named Lucy. She's a tiny little white whatever that we adopted from the Humane Society and very much a part of our family. Grandma Lowe calls her Lucy-Suzy . . . she gets our names mixed up too, and Lucy always gets some little gift everytime Grandma comes to sit on my porch and visit.

My hobbies are obviously goldfish, bicycling, rollerblading, raising two kids and making fun stuff. I'm always working, feeding my goldfish, cooking, changing water for my goldfish, house cleaning, breeding my goldfish, running errands, talking to my goldfish, doing laundry, swallowing goldfish poops while siphoning tanks, ironing, watching my goldfish, maintaining my car, yelling at the kids, shopping for more goldfish, apologizing to my kids, giving away excess goldfish, driving my kids crazy and waving good-bye to my kids as they drive away to get away from me, reading about goldfish, making artsy-fartsy things designed around - you guessed it - goldfish, and attending/competing at local fish shows. Well, you should be getting the picture by now.

I have kept fish since the age of 12 (the doctor told my parents it would help relax me). I had a never stomach and bleeding ulcer. I went through all the tropicals, but completely fell in love with goldfish 19 years ago. Every couple of years I go through the Betta/Gourami/Guppy stage, but even then I never eliminate the goldfish. I presently keep Oranda, Ryukin, Moors, and Lionheads. I find great deals on all of my tanks and equipment at the local yard sales, flea markets and thrift stores. Otherwise, I could never afford to purchase new fish or food for the kids. I read alot and search the web quite often for goldfish sites. I have organized a small group of goldfish enthusiasts in my area and we get together once a month. There are 8 local fish stores that I frequent often. 3 of these have very healthy goldfish and a great selection. I am so lucky! However, if it wasn't for stupid things like housing, utilities, food, clothing, gas, taxes, etc. I would have quite a wonderful goldfish collection. At the present time, I have breeding adults (2 pairs) Red Cap Orandas, (3 pairs) Red and Red/White Lionheads and (1 pair) Red Orandas.

Anyway, I'm really a nice, but boring guy (with absolutely no life) and hope you enjoy visiting my web site. My goal is to make this site a useful resource, help promote the goldfish hobby and make some goldfish friends along the way. Feel free to drop me a note sometime.

Sincerely,

Donnie