Monday, April 23, 2007

Fidelity - or fatigue?

My buddy The Choirboy was trying to entice me out to try a new bar in my neighbourhood the other night.

I turned him down, saying: "I don't think I approve of new bars. There are too many old bars I already like that I don't have the time or the money to sustain a regular relationship with."

I touched on the uncanny parallel between my attitudes to bars and to women in the comments on last week's haiku post about my loyalty to favourite bars. And now I find myself tormented by doubts as to whether fidelity is really driven by moral principle, or whether it's more just a matter of being constrained by limited resources. Ho hum.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

indeed, did that comment have a double intention - bars and women?

so you've experienced the knowing look of a woman who KNOWS you've visited elsewhere?

"Whose bed have your boots been under?"*

But wait, perhaps you've only experienced it vicariously via a friend... I'm sure I read a haiku on here about the Far East and Temptation, followed by a denial of personally being involved in such behavior.

I normally wouldn't ask such private questions in such a public way (or raise the possibility) but... you did bring it up. and I am having a long day at work - and random distraction does the mind good.

(*yes, that is an actual quote from an actual SONG. an American one. you can wiki it if you don't believe me. The music storage drive in my mind holds very few English language song quotes - but this is one of them.)

Anonymous said...

It's neither fidelity nor fatigue - it's middle age!

(you're going to ban me one of these days)

Froog said...

John, you were "middle-aged" when you were an undergraduate.

I, on the other hand, am STILL channelling my inner teenager.

You're going to have to try MUCH harder than that to get banned!

Besides, I think - logically speaking - middle age does pretty much equate to 'fatigued', so I'm not sure you really had a point to make there.

Froog said...

Tulsa,

I have no time to be searching the Internet for (I assume) C & W references. I am hoping The British Cowboy will appear and lighten my darkness on that one.

I think the previous Pope, JPII, said that infidelity was committed with the heart or mind, not with the loins. In that sense, I am certainly familiar with the experience. It is one of the curious provocations Fate always seems to throw at us that you may go months or years without a serious romantic interest but, as soon as you have one, numerous other attractive women of your acquaintance will suddenly start showing an interest in you.

My current 'love life' (pretty much the entire history of my love life, actually) is summarised over on Froogville by Heine. I am just about ready to renounce sex for ever. It never did me any good, and I was never any good at it.

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should become a born-again virgin, Froog.

(I was going to throw the expression 'sh*g-famine' into the conversation, but then thought it might be in poor taste amongst such high-brow postings. So I left it out).

Froog said...

Ha! I've been a BAV for yonks. I'm thinking of making the career-leap to EUNUCH.

The British Cowboy said...

It's not really country. It's Shania Twain.

Country Pop would be a better description.

This message brought to you from Galway.

Froog said...

Bastard! I should be there too!

Ah, well, have a great time. Remember, you're drinking for the two of us!