Looking for Paul B’s book

[Mical]

Rock On Mrs B! Your husband is the definition of a "Consummate Gentlemen" and he has brought so much to this community and the hobby. As they say "what you give out in positives, comes back tenfold".

 

[OlderManSea]

Got your book last week and read it yesterday. It was a great read! Started my first salt water tank in 1969 and your book took me back to the days. When I saw your picture of a tank with a metal light I recalled how many times I shocked the sh— out of myself, then you related your story. I read Straughn over and over - he was quite a genius. I still have his book and think fondly of UG filters, they worked remarkably well. We bought a few of the sporadically available commercial fish such as blue damsels and dominoes and things like Condy anemones, but I lived in Charleston SC so we caught a lot of our own. At Breach’s Inlet we caught tiny angelfish and butterflies in the late Summer and Fall using a 12 inch aquarium net while standing in knee-deep water.

Thanks for a great book! Black worms, white worms, newborn brine shrimp and various sizes of salt water mollies are the best foods for salt water and fresh water fish along with clams on the half shell. I have never quarantined any fish and never had a disease outbreak.

Hopefully more people will be inspired to follow your methods. Julian Sprung was a well-intentioned but relatively inexperienced kid when he began to preach tedious methods in the 80s. I was amused when he spoke at our meetings. My current 50 gallon tank has never had filtration other than a 200 micron sock and skimmer (my first was driven by a wooden air stone - I do appreciate the development of commercial Venturi skimmers) with no charcoal or other strange media. I do dose calcium and alkalinity so I can keep SPS.

Ah, Kristi Brinkley....

 

[Paul B]

OMG, I can't believe you guys. I honestly never wrote this book with the idea that it would raise any money, much less to help a cause that I am passionate about.

I just wrote it because I had to much "stuff" jammed in my head and I wanted to get some of it out before I get senile or run over by a Greyhound bus carrying retired Supermodels to Las Vegas in hopes of winning some SPS, maybe even a tridacna clam, a blue one, not the cheap colorless ones.

Your generosity is amazing and I really had no idea my book would have this impact as I am obviously no Edgar Allen Poe or even Susan Sarandon.

I have known my beautiful wife for almost 50 years as we were childhood Sweethearts which is rare today.
I still love her as much now as then, maybe even more so. We hang out as we are also best friends.
I would do anything for her (except quarantine anything as that would just be silly)

She wrote to me almost every day while I was in Viet Nam, how could I not marry her.

She has had MS for about 20 years but the last five years have taken their toll and now she walks with a cane everywhere, even in the house but she can walk, albeit slowly. The pain and fatigue are actually worse than the loss of mobility.

I got her an electric scooter that she took to church on Christmas in Manhattan as it was a few blocks away.

(We spent Christmas at our Daughters in the West Village and went to the oldest church in NYC)
I realize many people have worse debilitating diseases and I really feel for them. We have friends and relatives as many people do who are in really bad shape, but we tend to worry about the ones close to us the most.

Which is why I am so grateful to you guys who are doing this.
I am also grateful for the kind words from everyone and really, really appreciate it.
I also don't want anyone to feel they have to donate to this as this is my cause and as I said, I know we all have our own personal causes and can't give to everything. I know I wish I could, but I can't.

I plan to go to the Long Island Chapter of the MS Society before the end of this week to give them the donation and will include what you fantastic people are giving.

May God Bless you and your families.

If they give me a letter or something I will post it. I can't post any pictures now because my photo service "Photobucket" isn't working, but picture me and my wife here smiling with that bus full of Supermodels with their clams in the far background.

 

[Brian Kennedy]

I love the idea and the book and I’ll raise you to $120!

Way to go ScottieB. But I have to ask........do I hear $150 out there??? I heard a rumor that if we hit $200 @PaulB will start quarantining fish!

 

[Mical]

Way to go ScottieB. But I have to ask........do I hear $150 out there??? I heard a rumor that if we hit $200 @PaulB will start quarantining fish!

He's going to quarrenteen Supermodels...

 

[anonomous09]

I ordered the book a couple days ago and should be receiving it from Amazon next week I believe. Can't wait to read it!

 

[Mical]

I ordered the book a couple days ago and should be receiving it from Amazon next week I believe. Can't wait to read it!

Be prepared - a)you probably won't be able to put it down & b) be in stitches with his refs to super models & the like.

 

[Victoria M]

I ordered my copy!

 

[Mical]

Paul B's book is currently on Amazon -

 

[Paul B]

Victoria, you don't need to read my book. You already read my mind and know everything I know.

But thank you, I hope you enjoy it.
I didn't write it to be a comedy book, but apparently it's funny, Who Knew.

 

[Mical]

Victoria, you don't need to read my book. You already read my mind and know everything I know.

But thank you, I hope you enjoy it.
I didn't write it to be a comedy book, but apparently it's funny, Who Knew.

Don't believe a word he's saying, he's having second thoughts about releasing all his knowledge about reefkeeping.j/k The truth is his book is super informative, filled with tips - that HE himself has worked through not hearsay. Then he throws in "colour" in only a way Paul can. "Jenny Craig and fish?, Kristey Brinkley, super-models?" You get the point, you won't be able to put it down only to wipe the tears from laughter.

As I mentioned above - It's a great read, for a great cause & by a great man. I don't think I'ld buy a car from him, especially an Oldsmobile...

 

[Paul B]

Thanks. That picture above is my best friend Richie. We Have been friends so long that we look alike. Him and his wife, who I know longer then my wife live next door.

 

[Paul B]

Hopefully more people will be inspired to follow your methods. Julian Sprung was a well-intentioned but relatively inexperienced kid when he began to preach tedious methods in the 80s. I was amused when he spoke at our meetings.

Older Man, If you are older than me, you must really be a Geezer.
But I know I am. I am not sure where those years went but I am not a young stud any more, I just look like one. And most of me works fine.

I remember when Julian Sprung got into the game. I never personally met him but he seems to be very good at this and I can't say anything about him except I have read some of his theories.

I think Moe, Delbeek and Schmeck all got into the hobby when I did, at the beginning. My friend (who we just lost ) Albert Thiel got in just a couple of years later but he was a really smart guy.

Bob Goemns, another friend who has been here at my home got in before me. But he lives in Arizona so I can't walk there from here.

We all have our thing which we invented/discovered or came upon in a drunken stupor many years ago and what ever we do, it works for us.

Many people over the years have used my system. (my system is actually the fishes system which they taught me) A lot a lot of people still have problems. A lot of people have problems taking the tin foil off a new stick of butter.

My system, like quarantining or offering up tea leaves to the moon needs to be followed exactly or it won't work.

(I used to date a Greek girl and her Mother actually used to offer up tea leaves to the moon. I never understood why the moon needed tea but it may have worked because her Daughter was a gorgeous Greek Supermodel. I am not sure why she went out with me, but I didn't always look like this. I was a cross between Mat Damon, Tom Selic and Tim Conway. With the emphasis on Tim Conway. )

But I digress. My system isn't to just throw any ich/velvet/plague infested fish into your tank. That may not work unless you have a Mother that has some very strong tea leaves.
You need to have a healthy tank and not something you started last Tuesday, then cycled it with some cat food and tested it with your uncles meat thermometer.

Immune, healthy fish are fish that never heard of dry food, quarantine or medication, not even Alka Seltzer.

Medications, no matter what they are will disrupt a fishes (or our) digestive system and it may take months to recover.
Thats why people see a spot then create a huge tsunami to catch that fish while in the process of getting a divorce. Then freshwater dip the poor creature before soaking it in tree stump remover, Prizapro, Chloriquine and Creme De Mint then wonder why they spend all their quality time on the disease forum.

Leave the fish alone. It may die, it may not, but medicating it with anything that will kill it's stomach flora almost certainly will kill it. Fish Hate that.

It's the gut bacteria, which the fish took months or years to cultivate in the sea that controls the fishes health, not Facebook or Twitter. Antibiotics short circuit that so that the fish now has to rely completely on drugs for it's future health. Sort of like Ozzie Osborn and no one wants to look like that. ;Drool

If you want to quarantine, thats fine, but you have to commit to keep that fish in a sterile environment forever.

My wife got me this new computer for my Birthday and the keyboard is flat and I am not used to it so almost every letter I type I have to go back and correct which is why I started typing this post around Thanksgiving. ;Bucktooth;Meh

 

[OlderManSea]

Hi, Paul,

I am a few years younger (65) but started young, first tank at 5 years old. We spent a lot of time collecting in the various inlets and I worked at a large aquarium shop during high school. Got to meet many of the early folks including Straughan and Moe and some of the freshwater folks including Jack Wattley, who was breeding discus in the back room of his business when I first saw them, which was inspirational to a teenager. Sprung has done a lot for the hobby. I first met him when he spoke at the local society. Back then he had long straight hair that went to the small of his back. I didn’t see him live for many years after that and when I did, he had no hair to speak of, the progression of time.

I am hoping for another 20 years if I am very lucky.

 

[Paul B]

I never met Straughn but he and his books were my mentors and I still use some of his methods. The man was really good at this and collected all his own livestock when SCUBA was invented. I also read Jack Wattley but also never met him. Discus guy. Sprung is a Noob, but a smart Noob. As for hair, I had it too, plenty of it but remember while your hair is growing, it is all stuffed up inside your head so you don't have any room left for brains. Thats why us bald guys are so smart. ;Wideyed

 

[Paul B]

Last night I received a very nice check from Brian Kennedy for MS Research. I am really touched by this and not many people touch me, especially Supermodels.

Thank you Brian, My wife is really surprised as she thought I just make up this stuff about being on a fish forum and that many of the people actually care and are "fintastic" people.

This was very generous of you.
I was going to to go the MS Society today but as it happens I have two Grand Kids staying here right now, sleeping thank God. My day will be filled with "I want that,", " don't want that", "I want two of those" , "he hit me", etc.

I also have not received ten cents from Amazon for the book so it doesn't matter if I go today or next year, (Thursday)
I wanted to donate it this year for taxes but it seems I will get it in 2020 so it doesn't matter.

I have to go to my Knee Doctor Thursday because he wants to decide on the best cro bar to use to tear out this knee he just installed so he can put in a better one, maybe not from China so it will last longer than a year. My surgery is Feb 3 if anyone wants to bring me Grand Marnier in the hospital. I mean flowers.

My neighbor is helping me get home from there as I won't be ice skating for a while and it would be silly for my wife to try to help me and Christie Brinkley won't answer my calls.

If my wife tries to help me we will have to get a fife, bugle and flag so we look like the walking wounded from the civil war.

The MS Society is not far from my Doctor's office. (Dr. Kevorkian) so I will go then. I will lay out the Book money as I assume they will send it to me some day. I will also bring Brian's check and hopefully they will give him a letter of thanks or maybe a frag.

Today I will probably get ScottyBs check so I can bring both of them with me.

We really appreciate it but don't worry, I am not going to send out pictures of me in a Speedo to anyone who donated or read my book. ;Meh ;Bookworm

 

[Brian Kennedy]

My only wish is that I could have added more zeros! Enjoy those grand kids and have a wonderful new year.

 

[Paul B]

Thanks Brian, You did enough.

The Grand Kids are still sleeping. We are taking them to church this morning, then their Dad will come and pick them up.

My Dr. called yesterday and cancelled my appointment, Maybe he partied to much. He pushed it back two weeks but I will still attempt to get to the MS society Thursday to give them the donation.

Now that the holidays and most of the parties are over we, and most people can get back to living semi normal lives.

My wife and I are very tired. We took the kids to an indoor pool at my marina, then to an arcade, then I took my Grand Son bicycle riding on the new bicycle we gave him for Christmas and my Grand Daughter went shopping for shoes. Greta is 7 and a real Girly Girl.

Then we took them to Applebees for lunch. WE played games, watched a Christmas movie then at night we all went outside and banged pots and pans together to celebrate New Years Eve.
I am sure the neighbors thought that was wonderful.

 

[Paul B]

Yesterday my wife and I went to the National MS Society to donate some money.
As I said 100% of my books profits go to that cause and although so far I have not gotten a nickel, I gave them $500.00 plus the checks I received from Members here. (Thanks Brian)

Amazon waits 3 months before they send you any money but I assume I will get it eventually and if not, it is not a problem as it is a cause I would like to support.

The place is about 50 miles from my house and when we got there it was dark. I thought, Oh No, we drove all this way and they are closed.

But they had a door bell so I rang it. A Supermodel came to the door which made me happy and she invited us in and gave us coffee.

She is looking for a new home so I told her the place up stairs from us is for sale.
It's always nice to have a Supermodel living upstairs. But she didn't go for it.

She and the other girl/woman/female/she person/human being (I want to be politically correct) were very nice and we talked for a while as they were the only people in the place.

They will send a thank you letter to the people who donated and I told them to lose the addresses of those people because you know what happens when you donate to something. They camp out on your doorway for more money so just ignore them if that happens as you guys did enough and we are eternally grateful.

 

[Katrina71]

Glad we could contribute as well!