"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. 

Mike Birbiglia’s "Error at First Base"

               Mike Birbiglia’s "Error at First Base" is a comical recollection of his first kiss.  Beginning his story he explains how shocked he was to find out that “people we know are making out with people we know!”.  Describing making out as a “dog eating spaghetti” Birbiglia clearly finds the act discussing; however, he did not want to be the only kid in his school who hasn’t lost his “mouth virginity” so his quest to kiss a girl begins.  He talks on the phone with a girl named Lisa every night about homework; he decides that he would kiss Lisa.  He ends up having a horrible experience with her when he accompanies her to the carnival, puking on a ride right next to her.  So needless to say his chances are ruined with Lisa.  Later on Birbiglia attends an all guy school describing his classmates as “make out mashies” he couldn’t tell them he hasn’t kissed a girl for fear of being made fun of so he lies.  He ends up at a dance with a girl that his friend picks for him; by the end of the night Birbiglia has his first kiss.  his friends end up finding out that Birbiglia is a horrible kisser, he responds by saying “yeah it’s kind of my thing” when his friend chimes in laughing saying “me too” Birbiglia is no longer alone and feels accepted.

               Birbiglia’s story is about his first kiss however; the driving force though his whole story was about his feelings of being alone.  Loneliness is not unique to Birbiglia; in fact most everyone has had experiences that made them feel out casted from the normal.  I can personally relate to Mikes want to fit in, when I was in high school many of my friends smoked cigarettes and it would seem to come up in conversation a lot.  I found the habit repulsive, smoking smells bad, is bad for you, and tastes terrible.  However, I would join them just enough times so I wouldn’t be tagged as the kid who “is anti-smoking” when everyone thought it was so cool for some reason.  I didn’t want to lose my friends and be left alone, so I conformed to what I hated.  However, in hindsight just as Birbiglia found just because you don’t conform to everything that the crowd does doesn’t mean you’re alone. 

               Mike uses comedy to retell this embarrassing event because it makes it easier to talk about.  Many of us do not want to talk about bad memories or embarrassing events because it makes us feel open to judgment.  However, when you revisit these events you can take lessons from them that you might not have otherwise seen.