The Dating Guy

Who ever dreamed that at the age of 61 I'd be single and looking for a life mate. Certainly not me, yet here I am lost in a world of doubts and uncertainty. When my previous wife came home one day and informed me of her plans to move and I wasn't invited to go along, I stood there like a fool with my mouth agape and my heart ripped open. I recall waving to the moving van as it pulled away, as if she were going on a trip and would be returning soon, but that never happened. My first reaction was depression, but that soon gave way to online dating and the excitement of meeting new and different people.

My first experience was with a woman named Beverly. She was a lovely, youthful lady that was pictured at a mere 40 years old. I wrote to her and called to her and went to her, all within a few days. If only the girl in the photo had been available, I would have been happy. Instead it was her mother a woman of about 55 or older. It seems that Beverly used an older picture of her once youthful self to do a selling job on her perspective suitors. She answered the door wearing nothing but a towel and acted coyly, as if I were being treated to a seldom seen show. What she didn't realize was, to me it was a horror show!

We went out for a drink and Beverly announced to the world that we had met on a dating service as I slowly sunk into my seat trying to hide. When the clock hit 9, I announced that I'd had a wonderful time and headed for the door to leave with Beverly trailing behind saying that she hadn't finished her drink.. My pace was "keep up or get left behind", she kept up. I left Beverly's apartment shaking my weary head, trying to figure out a plan to prevent that from ever happening again. The good news is, it only happened 50 or 60 more times, the bad news is, there was no end in sight.

I could literally write a book about all of my failed dates. Don't misunderstand, there were some women that liked fine, they just seemed to hate me! Ages ranged from 35 to 65 and that didn't seem to make any difference. The one thing that most had in common were the lies. They lied about everything from their ages to their marital status, from the number of times they'd been married, to the work that they did for a living.

Enter Julie. Julie was entertaining, youthful, enterprising, fresh and delightful. She could hold a conversation, told the truth and kept me interested in her the entire time that I was with her. Julie was the perfect height, the ideal weight and was as polite as a schoolgirl asking for a bathroom pass. I was hooked the moment that we met. I knew she was the one for me, whatever that means?

We met at a restaurant that she had been wanting to go to for some time, but it was so busy that we had to leave and go to another place that was able to seat us in a reasonable amount of time. I recall driving her across town and stealing chances to look at her under the street lights as we'd pass. Whenever I was looking at her, she was looking back at me. We enjoyed our first date and have pretty much been together ever since. Last night I asked her to not marry me and she said yes, she wouldn't! I think we'll be happy together.. The one thing that I've learned after all of these years, is that marriage may NOT be the answer. Julie agrees!