The Boy and the Girl

Once upon a time there was a man named Marc. The problem with Marc, was that he was still really just a boy. Marc was 26. Marc liked to do things Marc liked to do. Marc put Marc first in everything. Marc's girlfriend didn't really like that about him.

In fact, hardpressed, Marc's girlfriend couldn't really tell you why she stayed with him. He was moody, selfish and rather dumb. Marc treated her however he felt like treating her at the moment. Sometimes he was nice. Usually he was incommunicative, and emotionally inaccessible. Sometimes he was mean. He was nearly always thoughtless.

Marc's girlfriend was a sweet girl named Ffallonolla. She wanted to be loved. Sometimes she thought Marc loved her, sometimes she thought not, sometimes she thought maybe he loves me but if this is how he expresses his love, I just don't know.

Ffallonolla had a rather low opinion of herself, that was largely buried in her selfconscious.

When U2 released Achtung Baby, she really liked U2. But now, her feelings for, or about, U2 -- especially Bono (not so much The Edge) -- have sort disappeared.

What do I make of this story? If Ted had chosen a regular name like Sandy or Kelly or Sarah the tale might have been a lot more thoughtful. But by naming the woman Ffallonolla, he kills any true depth to the story. Why did he do that? Ffallonolla is so obviously not a name, that we laugh. And then we become confused, because the rest of the story sounded so honest. Except the part about U2. That was a little too much.