GEEZER DATING: May 2023

I swore six months ago that I would never date again after the last so-called relationship ended. There were many enjoyable times together, and I deeply cared for him. Still, it wasn't going anywhere due to more than the two of us in the relationship, if you know what I mean. And it wasn't just the last one; it was the culmination of the handful of men I've met over the past 5 years that were never suitable matches, even in my wildest imagination. I must be a slow learner, but as I recently told female friends, I enjoy occasional male companionship for lunch, musical events, and chit-chat. I was on the precipice of trying again.

I began exchanging emails and texts with a fellow writer in this frame of mind. He read several of my books and told me I wrote well. I read his unpublished novella and short stories. His work was creative and bordered on brilliance.
We are the same age and unattached, so meeting for coffee would be the next step. Our shared love of writing should lead to a good friendship and more, or so we thought.
The evening before our rendezvous, he emailed to tell me he had met another woman several times. He felt there was a connection that might lead to more. In the same communication, he said he'd still like to meet on a park bench somewhere because he had a few pointers about my children's book since he was a writer, editor, and teacher. This part was confusing because he had initially told me he had been a dealer in a casino.
For those who know me, one can only imagine my response: "No, I don't want to meet you, and who asked for your input? After all, the books have already been published, and I don't need them to be edited or get "pointers." How arrogant of you! Besides, I didn't give you any editing advice on your unpublished stories because you didn't ask for it. Remember this: Unsolicited advice is criticism."
I dodged a bullet on that one. I would have wasted my time and probably immediately walked away if he had started with his "pointers." Additionally, he had sent me a picture of himself. It's been my experience that men usually share photos taken 10 to 20 years ago. Based on his picture of a man more in his mid-50s than early 70s, I was prepared to not recognize anyone in the store. Oh, wait, who's that REALLY old guy in the corner? He would have stood up and introduced himself. I would immediately shake his hand and smile while screaming inside my head.

Once and for all, I've had enough!





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DR MCELROY AND TEXAS A&M

Image
  I’ve lived my life with integrity, compassion, and honesty.  I don’t back down from a controversial subject and will always speak out against injustice and prejudice.  I received many benefits from being White, although I was still short-shafted regarding equal pay as a woman.   Case in point: I was replaced by two men when I retired from overseeing a 36-bed rehabilitation hospital and 6 outpatient clinics serving children through adults. The man who replaced me had great difficulty managing the inpatient rehabilitation services. Hence, the Healthcare System overseeing the services promoted a male physical therapist to manage the outpatient facilities.  Each of the men was paid more than I.  It’s probably not a stretch to guess that had I been a person of color with the same credentials, I would not have been hired, and doubly so if I had been a woman of color with the same credentials.   A tenured UT journalism professor was recently recruited to Texas A&M to kick-start their jo
Read more

MY LIFE WITH TERI FLANAGAN

Image
  (Teri authored a story about me entitled "My Life with Dana Rushing" in the local newspaper after I moved from Horseshoe Bay to Austin. It was a total surprise and touched me beyond words. She is now in hospice at a facility in Marble Falls. Teri's husband has given me permission to publish this story. It will be in The Beacon this week.) I’m incredibly fortunate to have a friend I could call to assist me with the various projects I began or coordinated while living in Horseshoe Bay for five years. Other friends also answered my call to action, but Teri was always the first one I contacted because I was confident she would agree to help. Teri once said when she saw my name on her caller ID, she knew I wasn’t calling to chat and that she was being recruited for another project. Still, Teri answered my call. Teri is a talented artist and an avid reader. Her beautiful painting of a colorful donkey hangs in my home. A burnt orange wooden walking stick David made helps k
Read more

ROSA PARKS AND THE DREAM

Image
I dreamed of Rosa Parks last night.  She was sitting in a seat in the middle of a bus with Black men sitting on both sides of her.  I figured they were bodyguards and had joined her after news got out that this 'uppity Black woman' had dared to take her place amongst the Whites. The days of sitting in the back of the bus were over for her.  She worked long, hard days at low wages for a white family and had to take a bus every...damn...day.  Her great-grandparents had been slaves.  Enough was enough.   She felt she earned something more than a seat at the back of the bus.   She didn't know that this small act would set up a firestorm of millions of people being emboldened by her.  More and more people began speaking out, demonstrating, and even rioting to bring civil rights to the forefront.  The battle continued until, at last, civil rights passed.  Racism became somewhat more subtle over 50 years. But the Rosa Parks I saw in my dreams is still in that seat.
Read more