Online Dating: Yes or No?

Is online dating only for fun and games, or can folks looking for a relationship actually find others who are looking for the same thing? 

I have reached the point where I am ready to try this. As much as I love living on this mountain, I am ready to venture out into the neighborhood, seeking a woman of mature age to spend quality time with. I may be seventy years old but I ain't dead yet.

This photo of me was taken by
 Ollie Mac a few weeks ago.

I love to cook, bake, garden, walk for pleasure, watch the Giants and 49ers on TV, and I enjoy almost every kind of music. I love painting, writing, hanging out with my grandson, working jigsaw puzzles and canning tomato products. I am not a traveling man, though I do enjoy being in Eureka, which is two hours to the north.

I keep this huge [empty] house neat and tidy, having always found it easier to maintain it than it is to clean it after it falls apart. Except for Ollie Mac, there is no one else around to make a mess. It’s a country home, so you will not find a microwave, a clothes dryer, a dishwasher (except for me), a toaster oven or a garbage disposal. You will see spider webs, ants and the occasional alligator lizard as you mosey around my house, but they’re harmless and don’t eat much.

The first thing I would divulge to a prospective partner is that I indulge in cannabis. Secondly, I would say that I would love to cook a meal for you, and then clean up the kitchen afterwards. I especially like cooking breakfast for two, which leads me into the third thing I would tell my potential partner: I would add that though I am seventy, I am still interested in intimacy. There is nothing wrong with platonic relationships, mind you, except that I am not interested in that.

If this last part seems forward, I apologize in advance; I would just be trying to avoid any unnecessary ambiguity, and plain English seems the best way to do so.

Shortly after Annie passed, I wrote a blog piece called “Only Mature Women Need Apply,” in which I expressed an interest in finding another mate. I now find that piece to be rather naive, as if women would be interested in giving up whatever they had going, to join me up here on my mountain.

I have adjusted my thinking and now realize that a full-time relationship, does not require a full-time living arrangement. It is the connection I am seeking, not a live-in partner. I am talking about being able to go back and forth from here to her place, and that she could be able to do the same thing. Each of us would have our own things going on in our own worlds, but we would also have the time and inclination to reach out for something more.

Driving is challenging for me, so I am not interested in any long-distance commuting. What does this look like? Restricting my area of interest to only The ‘Ville seems too limiting, but extending it past either Willits to the south or Garberville to the north, is simply unrealistic. Even the coast is too far, as it is close to two hours to get to Ft. Bragg. 

Off the top of my pointy little head, I might think the number of available women in these areas is small, but I don’t need any more than one, so it seems worth a try. I do ponder whether or not there are scam artists hanging out at these online dating sites, and how one would go about determining legitimate responders from fake ones, but that is just me catastrophizing. 

Assuming it was better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, if you have ever tried online dating and feel like sharing what that was like, I would appreciate knowing how it worked out for you. Thanks!