American Woman

Here's a piece I wrote about my on-again boff-again girlfriend Ashley who was with me for my first two years in Japan in 1990-91 and 1991-92, when she left to go back home to the US. We had pretty much broken up after that first year, but decided that sleeping together was an option good enough for both of us, without the hang-up of having to be boyfriend-girlfriend.
Lucky me, huh? By the way... in that first line where it looks like I mis-spelled 'off'... it's supposed to say 'boff'... it's slang for 'have sex with'. I was still hung up on her though, which made it difficult for me to have any sort of long-lasting relationship during my second year.
The following is an attempt to exercise those American demons of mine - so I could concentrate on other beautiful women like Kristine who lived 500 kilometres away in Shiga-ken. I know, I know.

Love: Sure I feel qualified to write about this topic. I've been in love many times before. Well, once then, if you're going t be picky. Or perhaps it was a case of indigestion. It could have been her cooking.

She came into the night. Inexplicably. Inexorably. Inextricably. Her image flooded my senses.
I looked at my sweater the next day. On it was a strand of reddish-brown hair I knew only too well.
They say you never forget your first love. How can I? I find her scent upon everything I own.
Two years is a long time to be with someone, especially when you are only 28-years-old. But when we met, we were... oh, I don't know... something clicked. Our pheromones were a perfect match even if our personalities didn't. It was a rocky time, though our sex was pretty good.
Fire and Water. I am a Scorpio, she the water-bearer, Sagittarius.
Fire and Water - the eternal enemies. Hah! Nothing looks quite as exotic as when the two meet in unholy union and dance betwixt the carbonic shells which seek to harness them. You can't control the uncontrollable. We made love without the aid of stimulant. The tryst's the thing. True to my sign, I am a raging hormone bent on sex. Or so I like to think. I just loved her. I loved the way her hair glinted in the sunlight, the way it sheened in the rain. The way it felt in my hand, the way it felt on my face.
I loved the way she'd tilt her head and look at me with her squinty eyes. Even when she was angry at me and taking me down a notch or two, I'd still be captivated by that look.
Physically, she was no Playmate of the Month. She was a little chubby, with a big butt and hips built for child-rearing. But she was still incredibly cute.
She oozed of that je ne sais quoi. Sex appeal, I guess. Love pheromones. We should never have been together. We should never have been apart. One always sought to be the leader. Her ego sought to douse my unbridled enthusiasm, whilst I tried to boil away her stoicism.
Yet it always seemed so perfect when we were apart.

Somewhere apart,
Andrew Joseph
Today's title is by The Guess Who: CANADIANEH - it's the long version, and kicks in after 1:18.
PS: I'm reading this 18 years later and I'm unsure if when it was written I was over her or not. Hence my confusion and inability to proceed with my life more fully. Yeesh.
PPS: By the way, in case you weren't aware - and I'm unsure how many Americans really are - American Woman (aka The Statue of Liberty) is an anti-American song. It has always boggled my mind to see Amerks dancing and hooting to this song.
PPPS: Kristine is American, too, so maybe this wasn't such an appropriate song for this blog! Live and learn.