Like Chatting With an Old Friend

I have a copy of a book called Robert E. Lee: The Christian (No, this isn't an off topic review. Stay with me). It's in perfect shape. The cover is there. There are no dog eared pages. I haven't read the book.

I also have (or had is a better word) a copy of Couplehood by Paul Reiser. All the pages are dog eared. The back cover is gone. I think a few pages are loose. Heck, the book is stuck in a permanently open position at about pages 157-158. I really need a new copy. What does this say about that book? I love it. I've read it everywhere, except brief periods of crossing the street. (Sidewalks are fair game. I don't want to get hit by a truck, but people had better get out of the way. I'm reading.)

In Couplehood, Paul Reiser talks about the ins and outs of marriage. His style is wonderful. It's like he's chatting with you. This is probably because some parts are taken directly from some of his comedy act, where he is just talking to the audience. Even his way of organizing has a homey, friendly feel. You know how conversations jump from one topic to another, and after awhile you lose track of whatever subtopic bridged the jump? (One minute it's baseball, the next - hurricanes. How did we get there? Oh, yes. There's a baseball team in Florida) Well, he can begin by telling you how nice it feels to wake up next to the woman he loves, then he smoothly goes on to how nobody really wants to exercise. This just appeals to my scatterbrained mind.

You can tell he loves his wife, but he isn't unrealistic about their life. No one is in wedded bliss ALL the time (wouldn't you hate people who were?). No, he tells of the mundane times, the times where they just spend the day reading the paper, and their arguments. When he writes of their spats, you feel like you're in the room.

He also tells how different things are once you're a couple. Things you never noticed about yourself suddenly come to light when you have someone else to think about. Or, now you realise you have a whole new set of friends to handle. But, there are advantages. There's nothing like having someone to put suntan lotion on your back, or to tell you that you have something in your nose.

Paul Reiser's humor shines through here, but the main thing is the love. Throughout the book, you know he's thinking how fortunate he is to wake up, sleep with, eat with, and even fight with this woman. And you know he hopes it will go on forever. Now, that's what couplehood should be like.