A paper ring

I've had it to here bein' where love's a small word
Part-time thing, paper ring
I know it's been done, having one girl who'll love me
Right or wrong, weak or strong
--- Neil Diamond, "Solitary Man"

The song is one of Diamond's signatures, but you haven't really heard it until you've heard Johnny Cash's stark, solemn version.

***

The Minor Fall, The Major Lift, as one might expect for a site named after one of Leonard Cohen's greatest songs, is a treasure trove of sarcastic, well-informed goodness. And we share a similar outlook on life, as this post attests.

***

I met up with the Ex for lunch. She gave me some of the money she owes me and we exchanged important paperwork. She drives off to Little Canada tomorrow for an indefinite period. It was an affable, even jolly, meeting, but we did not hug goodbye.

***

This Spookytooth business is on my mind.

Previously, Spookytooth has proclaimed a casual attitude toward sex, averring that often it isn't a big deal between two adult people. However, she has called me no less than four times today. (I took only the last of the calls, and talked to her for 20 minutes or so before begging off.) I do not want her as a "girlfriend." Friend, yes. Drinking and gaming buddy at the Hangout, yes. Occasional physical encounter, perhaps. Date, no.

I don't want to be an arrogant prick about this; Ganesh knows I'm no Adonis and hardly have a bevy of beauties begging to be with me. Spookytooth is fairly smart, she's well-read and shares my interest in stuff like "The Simpsons" and "The Chapelle Show," she feels unworthy of being with me, she seems (based on my very limited observation) to be a GGG partner, she's wealthy, and she can be fun.

But. She's just not attractive to me, she lives with her estranged husband and the father of her child, and worst, she's boring --- she talks too much. The Friar was singularly unimpressed by her. What is going to happen here?