56. Yelle “C’est Pas Une Vie” Safari Disco Club [Downtown]
“Je m’amuse quand les autres s’ennuient.”
There are plenty of reasons for taking off your clothes in public. “Oh look a fountain” is not one of them. It barely constitutes a complete thought, much less grounds for disrobing in a foreign city amongst hordes of bustling bodies just trying to get from point A to point B without witnessing outdoor genitalia. And afterwards? He didn’t even apologize. He didn’t even acknowledge that what he did was against social norms and uncomfortable for everyone, including me, his girlfriend of five years. He just grinned like the oblivious moron I’ve come to realize he is. Our first trip abroad, both together or individually, and before our first full day came to a close he had already garnered the attention of the cops and a group of old ladies feeding the ducks on a bench. They literally all turned at once like they were in a Rogaine commercial or something, except Stan was the “before” actor. At the end of it, as he giggled maniacally, splashing passersby all willy nilly, I thought he would at the very least use his trademark line: “I don’t know what came over me.” It would have meant nothing like it always had, sure, but at least it would have been some attempt to cut the tension between us at the police station. Nope. nothing. He was completely in his own world, drips of government water falling off his earlobes, and staring straight ahead in an absurd coma of self-fulfillment. For a microsecond I was happy for him, though I would never admit that I was happy myself.
