Thank you all for the warm welcome. A little nervous about the journey. I was one of those folks who thought that all it took was a small bowl and some fish food (my brother had a betta once and it did not end well), and boy was I wrong. I actually went on a shopping spree today and purchased a 3 gallon fish tank, and all of the other accessories that go along with it, paying close attention to the list of necessary items I garnered from this forum. I put the whole thing together, taking care to wash all of the items properly, and then treat the water with a water treatment while allowing the tank to aerate.
The betta came in a cup, and I am in a hurry to have the poor guy transferred over as I hate seeing him in the dirty, small cup. I am letting the tank do its thing for 24 hours.