Fixing Nemo by Rebecca Skloot

I found "Fixing Nemo" by Rebecca Skloot to be informative, funny, and also quite creative.  I never knew that fish veterinary care existed, so reading that alone was enough to spark my interest in the article and continue to read.  Skloot uses a good balance in her writing, one that is both informative and funny, that makes for a creative piece that is also journalistic.

I found this sentence to be particularly amusing:  "Which brings us to the human-fish bond, and people who gasp if you mention flushing because they swear their fish have personalities so big they win hearts."  Using the term "human-fish bond" is something that sounds farfetched and adds to the humor of the piece.  What's even more interesting is how this "human-fish bond" isn't farfetched at all -- there are actually people who say they experience such a thing.

While parts of this piece read very strongly as journalism, there are also some parts that sound like they would belong more in a fiction piece.  For example:  "Lewbart, a professor of aquatic medicine, has short brown hair, graying sideburns and a soft blanket of freckles -- like someone misted him with tan paint."  Describing this man's freckles as if "someone misted him with tan paint" is a creative way to describe what he looks like.  Using these kinds of sentences makes Skloot's piece creative non-fiction.

Finally, while some people may find these people who care so much for their fish borderline insane, I can say that I empathize with them.  As a vegan, I don't eat animals because I love them.  And while I don't see myself falling in love with a fish anytime soon, I can certainly understand the compassion that these fish-lovers feel toward these aquatic animals.