The Joys/Woes of Being A Secret Admirer...

O, dating woes…



Please permit a brief secret-admirer tale, then at the close I’ll ask YOU a question about your own dating practices!



Would attending a funeral exhibit be considered a freaky/eerie first date? Let me explain…



Those here who know me from other forums recall that I ended an 11 year partnership and became single last winter. Well, several friends have told me enough is enough, and have coerced me into embarking on my first date since the break-up… so, I’ve asked the person they’ve chosen for me- someone who I happen to have been admiring from afar… he appears to be an honorable guy who for all intents and purposes is not only a great catch- but who possesses all kinds of incredible appeal.



I’m a former chef who now works in the basement of the nation’s largest insurance company here in Bloomington. I dig history, art, politics and growing things… and Jorge is the strapping foreman of the summer landscaping crew and leads the teams that tend to the company’s extensive gardens and oasis-spots both indoors and out, at our multiple campuses. I’ve been informed by my well-intentioned friends that Jorge too enjoys history, art, politics, growing things- and remarkably- fine dining! (Definitely right up my alley!) Plus during the slow winter season he moonlights at local florist shops working with flowers for all sorts of functions- which presumably include funerals.



So, Jorge accepted my invite with a lovely smile full of the whitest teeth I’ve ever seen- and here’s the first date I’ve planned… I think it’ll be perfect, but a couple of my friends are grimacing… tell me if you think my plans might be inappropriately eerie or spooky… afterall, one wants to start off on the right foot!

Here in the ‘Land of Lincoln’ a local funeral home chain in conjunction w/ Sanagman State University is hosting a historic exhibit of 18th & 19th century funeral customs: “Now He Belongs to the Ages: A Presentation of Abraham Lincoln’s Life, Death, and Funeral”. There will be extensive Abraham Lincoln memorabilia and artfiacts including a reproduction of his black-draped funeral-train car, and his casket.

So, I will take Jorge to this exhibit… then the plan will be to enjoy a stroll, then a picnic basket of favorite morsels on a hillside in the 19th century section of a lovely nearby cemetery where such notables as U.S.Chief Justice David Davis and U.S. Vice President Adlai Stevenson are laid to rest.

I predict success. But my friends predict disaster of “Adams Family” proportions! What’s YOUR take?

(Please share interesting dates YOU’VE been on! And how did they invlove food?)

Kevin that sounds like a very interesting outing, date, or whatever. I would appreciate going to something like that because it sounds educational and an unusually out of the ordinary event and to me that is just neat. It would sure be something I'd never forget!


One of the most neat dates I ever went on was to see a play titled "That's My Gal" it was a phenominal play, there was a little bit of everything in it comedy, drama, sorrow and joy!!! My second favorite date was go-cart racing, I loved every minute of it. Of-course all dates either began at or ended at a restaurant for some fine dining!

Sounds like a neat Idea to me. It has things you both are interested in and gosh...I would love it !
lol...the men I dated had no imagination...guess that's why I rarely went on second dates before meeting Hubby on New Years 2006. FYI...I was married first time for 25 yrs before getting a divorce.
But there was one first date before hubby # 2 that was with a guy that sticks in my mind still...lol..His Harley not the man ! lol....he showed up one day on his Harley and took me for a ride down the Natchez Trace Parkway...it was in the fall of the year and the Trees were all turning Golden....we shared a picnic on an Indian mound after taking a nature walk and looking for artifacts.Loved riding his Harley ! That was my first time to ride one.

I think that sounds like cool date.
Good luck!

Thanks, all!

Cathy- Bumper Cars are AWESOME! I was part of a wedding party once and we all climbed into them after the rehearsal supper and HAD A BLAST!

Frannie, your Harley ride and Autumn stroll indeed sounds incredible too!

Ok, my take on it would be, if I was a hard core history buff, it might interest me, perhaps too much.

It has been a while since I have been on a first date, but generally I always tried to find something just stimulating enough to handle awkward silences if there are any, yet not too stimulating that I get to know nothing about the person I am dating.

Example, a helicopter ride over the desert offers just enough distraction that you both can do something and still talk yet enjoy the outing. Skydiving at 10k feet however demands your full attention and chances are, you will both me more focused on saving your respective lives than getting to know each other.

Will this tour be leisurely? Or are they going to herd and whip you like cattle demanding your 100% attention?

Regardless of what you are doing, I think the attention factor is the most important.