"Old Faithful" By David Sedaris

David Sedaris's "Old Faithful" is a narrative of his love life with a man named Hugh. Sedaris depicts an extremely painful boil he has on his tailbone.  He goes on to separate himself from what the normal or his friends do with respect to relationships.  Saying “Almost all of the gay couples I knew at that time had some sort of an arrangement. Boyfriend A could sleep with someone else as long as he didn’t bring him home—or as long as he did bring him home. And boyfriend B was free to do the same. It was a good setup for those who enjoyed variety and the thrill of the hunt, but to me it was just scary, and way too much work—like having one job while applying for another.” (Sedaris 2) it is clear Sedaris has a fear of being alone.  He then goes on to tell us about this guy Hugh, he meets and falls in love with.  Things are well, except he has a fear that if they go out in public they will not have anything to talk about.  He even goes so far is to do research and write notes so they have an outline to keep conversation going.  He recalls seeing an old couple sitting in a restaurant and the elderly gentlemen looks up at him; he could see in his eyes that one day this will be you.  The story is concluded by Hugh lancing the boil on his tailbone, Sedaris then compares them to an old couple rather than trying to distance them like he had in the past.

The main theme through the story was Sedaris’ fears about love.  He talks about a bad relationship and how it will be very hard to find someone new.  How he is very monogamous and it seems he is one of the only ones who is.  Even after he falls in love with Hugh he fears they will not have anything to talk about.  This is very relatable because love is unsure, and in today’s world much of life is very clear thus the unknown is frightening.