Swordfish is on sale this week. So is catfish. I like them both. I know some people who don't eat fish. Some of them hate fish and some are vegetarians and some are vegans. They all share that not eating fish thing.

The vegans and vegetarians I can understand. No creature flesh. I was once asked while working the seafood case, "Is fish a vegetable?" The inquisitor was a beautiful, tall, thin Asian woman who you would guess was a model. She was serious. 

Now look at flounder. I like flounder. I've caught and eaten them. What if we were more like flounder? Both eyes on one side of our face. A dark side and a lighter side. Flat but purposeful. You could argue that they aren't too pretty, but you couldn't say they aren't different. I guess halibut are similar, but they're bigger. And, halibut is not a verb.

There's a certain lack of symetry about flounder that makes them so cool. It's like that offset stripe that runs up some Brittish sports cars. Anybody can put a stripe or two perfectly up the middle. It takes an eye to do it right somewhere off of center. I suspect that that episode of the original Star Trek with the guy who was black on one side and white on the other and was at war with a guy who mirrored that, was inspired by flounder. Though I doubt there are flounder wars based on coloration patterns. 

The first time I saw a flounder I was creeped out and fascinated. That mouth/eye combo was weird. Then it flipped over and revealed its soft, white other side. (I wanted to say soft, white underbelly in a little nod to Blue Oyster Cult, but it's not a belly. It's the other side. Perhaps next time.) Creepy. Fascinating. How did it do that?

I've been told that they're born with an eye on each side and their mouth centered on their forward end. As they grow and hang out exclusively on the ocean floor all their junk migrates to the top side. I don't know how accurate that is. I don't particularly care. It's too cool.