When We First Met

He found me online, and thought we'd be a match even though my desired age parameters precluded him--he's five years younger than me.  His email was short, and sweet, but the last line was unexpected:

"Let's go to a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse sometime."

Hmmm.  Who wants to go to a movie with someone they've never met in person?  Would I want to sit in the dark and not talk to someone I barely know?  Not even a little bit.  Nor was I interested in teaching him rules about dating.  Still, he was cute and he was interested, so I responded:

"I love going to movies at the Alamo Drafthouse, but the first time I meet someone I prefer to get to know them by meeting for a beer, or coffee, so we have a chance to talk.  How about that?"

He readily agreed, and suggested we meet for a beer the following week at the Draught House.  At 8pm.  Because it would be cooler then.  So, it had been a while since I'd met someone for a beer at the Draught House, but I was pretty sure it had a sizeable air-conditioned indoors area.  Right?  But I agreed, and our plan was set.

The day of our date, he emailed me in the early afternoon.  He needed to cancel, and said he'd get back to me about rescheduling.  I hadn't even been on a date with the fella, and I was already wondering if we would ever meet.  Or, if I even wanted to meet.  I let him know that I'd wait to hear from him, and hoped everything was okay.  Much later that evening, I heard from him again.  He had a painful earache from going out on the boat the prior weekend (eye roll), and had gone to the doctor to get a prescription.  We rescheduled.

The evening of our first date, a thunderstorm threatened.  Of course.  We exchanged several last-minute emails, and decided to meet at the Pour House.  Turns out the storm missed the area completely, the temperature cooled down, and we were able to enjoy our beers outside under the trees. 

Another surprise:  he wasn't just cute.  He was smart--after five years in the Marines right out of high school, he went to UT and got a challenging degree.  He worked for an International company doing stuff that made the Nerd Herd seem dumb.  And he was interesting--his small hometown was far from Texas, but he got away from the family business and had lots of stories to tell.  He was easy to talk to, and made me laugh.  Nothing he told me was weird enough to make a mental note to tell all my friends later.

Yet.  I didn't feel a connection.  Arranging our date had been a little annoying, a little frustrating, and I felt a little like I was making plans with one of my younger brother's goofy friends.  I mean, in high school I had a crush here and there on some of my younger brother's goofy friends, but they were all only two or three years younger than me, or even my age.

But he walked me to my car, and gave me a hug.  Our heads ended up pressed together, and my right ear slightly suctioned to his face.  I felt a faint POP when we parted.  And it was oddly delightful.

Stuff I've Read

I've read some stuff on the internet today:

History of Pink Flamingos

Dementia Village

Welcome to the Secret Ice Cream Society

It has been claimed that, in the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Kahn enjoyed ice cream and kept it a royal secret until Marco Polo visited China and took the technique of making ice cream to Italy.

When Italian duchess Catherine de' Medici married the Duke of Orleans (Henry II of France) and moved to France, she is said to have taken with her Italian chefs who had recipes for flavored ices or sorbets.

One hundred years later, Charles I of England was reportedly so impressed by this "frozen snow" that he offered his own ice cream maker a lifetime pension in return for keeping the formula secret, so that ice cream could be a royal perogative.

There is no historical evidence to support these legends, which first appeared in the 19th century.

And I, in fact, lifted that information straight out of wikipedia. 

It's a secret.  Tell your friends.