Stranger Danger

Posted on by Giddyup,Linda!
  “I would never do that,” my single friend Diana says every time I tell her about a match.com date. This restaurant owner meets people from all over the world and has never met a stranger. But sign up for a dating site? “I’d be scared to death to go out with someone I don’t know,” she adds. I understand her fear. It takes time to get comfortable with the idea of meeting a stranger. That’s why I require a phone call and a full name and phone number before... Read More

Lovey-Dovey

Posted on by Giddyup,Linda!
  The bird turned to look at us, its small, graceful head swiveling atop an elegant neck of beautiful blush pink feathers. “That’s the male dove, and it’s his turn on duty,” my daughter Megan told me, pointing up to where the bird sat in a loose nest of twigs and grass. It was 2021, and I’d returned to the Midwest for the summer where Megan’s home becomes my home base. It includes her husband Jay and my three grandkids (aka my merrymakers)—and now a couple of mourning doves tucked... Read More

Profiled

Posted on by Giddyup,Linda!
I'm a woman who likes details.  So it's no surprise that I jotted down information about the dates I've been on since my divorce.  I'd have my notes ready before a second date to refresh my memory about the guys I met online. Answers are often in the details. My first step, though, was writing MY profile that told interested parties what I was looking for in a date.  I joined two sites, match.com and Tinder, and hoped men would swipe right and start an online conversation.  That was 10... Read More

Uncoupled

Posted on by Giddyup,Linda!
I describe divorce as an out of body experience, where the team you've played on for decades is now in "man down" mode. When I first filled out forms asking my marital status, it felt strange checking the box next to SINGLE, like a kite flying aimlessly with no one holding the string. I'd marked MARRIED for most of my adult life and never thought I'd be anything but that for the rest of my days.  One part of me knew I was single, but another part felt as if... Read More

Man of Letters

Posted on by Giddyup,Linda!
Beware the pen pal. He reached out across the vast Tinder wasteland and said he liked my profile and could I meet him for breakfast? This was some years ago and he, in Palm Springs on vacation, had posted photos of himself looking as pure and smooth as a well-aged Canadian whiskey, a guy who could’ve had an Olympic pedigree with his tall, lanky physique, chiseled jaw and mop of silver hair that begged to be touched. I couldn’t make a date work with my full schedule, but he parted... Read More