The Aquatic Critter

 By Aedan Peterson

We would often pass by the longtime Nashville establishment "The Aquatic Critter" growing up. It's a wonderful and stinky place that heartily delivers on its promise of containing aquatic critters. I have always been completely and utterly mystified by the logo. It's confusing and doesn't read well from a distance, and even more confusing because they might have scorpions but it's not a heavy feature of the store. My bafflement morphed into hatred for it in my younger years. But now, I live within walking distance, and I frequent it with my daughter, and I'm older and softer. I step over the welcome mat with the scorpiofish often, and it's grown on me. Truly, I love this gnarly piece of design. Here's my attempt to honor it with my own riff.