Online dating – have you? Would you?
No, when I was dating there was no ‘online’ as we know it today, although there have been forms of online dating for years – the personals in newspapers.
Would I? I don’t think so, I’m not that brave.
The closest I got to dating someone I’d never met before was a blind date. I was a bundle of nerves. My clothes, my hair, would he take one look and run? Worse, what would he look like? Fortunately, we didn’t run in opposite directions and had a lovely evening.
However, someone I know very well did test the online dating waters. She was at a crossroads in life, not sure which way to go and took the plunge. After chatting with a few people from various parts of the world, she connected with an American guy. I didn’t worry about this harmless chatting, after all she was in Australia, he was safely tucked away on the other side of the Pacific. Just like pen friends in the old days.
That changed when she decided to travel to America to meet him.
Dumbstruck, I spluttered, “Are you insane? Who is he, where does he live? Don’t you know con men and axe murderers lure unsuspecting females this way?” Finally, “You’re bloody mad.”
Undeterred, my daughter, who hates flying, travelled to the USA to meet the axe murderer. They clicked. She flew home, applied for her visa which was approved, and returned to the States. A couple of years later they married, she became a conditional permanent resident, then full permanent resident. Her citizenship application was approved on 9/11/2018.
I’ve enjoyed some wonderful holidays in the USA with my daughter and son in law and the bonuses that came with it. Visiting the beautiful Michigan Upper Peninsula and Niagara Falls are just two.
Now COVID has all of us confined to quarters, I’m grateful for ‘online’, where we can chat to friends and families on Skype and Facetime until it’s safe to travel again.
What do you think?
Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.
The Woman Behind the Mirror
The Proposition
Lies of Gold—Silver Historical for 2019: Coffee Pot Book Club
The question this week is whether life exists outside of writing. For me, the better question is, does writing exist outside of life? Without life experiences, is there anything upon which to base a short story, novella, or novel? I doubt it. Even a splendid imagination needs some comparison in order to work. If you only know one place or one type of person, it would be much harder to develop a well-rounded story line.
cities like San Francisco and Chicago to small places like Appleton, WI and Greenwood, SC—we’ve met and made friends with people from all walks of life, helping me to give depths to my stories and characters.
mom used to collect those little Hummel figures—not the real ones. But I was never drawn into that. I’m sentimental…and yet, not. My mother-in-law once convinced me to collect pewter cups. In Virginia, pewter is readily available and some of the fine cups used for display are really beautiful. I collected three and then lost interest. Maybe I don’t have the patience to build an actual collection. However, for hoarding…I find that a little too easy.
silver serving tray, silver monogrammed drinking glasses, and silver tipped salt and pepper shakers. Nope, never used them. Kept them in the same boxes we received them. But I kept packing and moving them with us because for some reason I just couldn’t let them go. Crazy? Yeah, I think so a bit. Finally, in a wild downsize, I sent all of that stuff to the Salvation Army but—I won’t lie—it was painful.
ridiculous dust collector I picked up in Chicago, book my mom gave me fifteen years ago, etc.), so I can’t toss it away.” That’s how it goes, folks. One day I will have to say goodbye to all of it, but until then, all of that stuff is in four tubs stacked in my closet. Sigh.
point, I think I had 300 cookbooks. Whenever any family member traveled anywhere, they knew what to bring back for my collection. I read them like novels and used them often. In the same line, I collected 
Banks, a red phone box from London, a variety of stocking stuffer magnets, and one I kept from my mother-in-law when she died: “Dull women keep immaculate houses.” And so many more! Each magnet brought back memories. But two moves back, I think I lost the box. So temporarily, I’ve given up collecting anything. It’s not a bad thing. Now I’ve taken to giving away items I have for other people’s collections. It’s just as fun!