To me\u2026 Long Beach is The City for Love. <\/p>\n
I met my husband at Polly\u2019s Gourmet Coffee in Belmont Shore. It was March 24, 2006. I was 47, and had never been married. (I know\u2026I was old. Long story for another time.) <\/p>\n
There I was driving to Polly\u2019s from my place in the Heights, and I’m thinking: \u201cGeez\u2026 here we go again; another waste of time. (I had read something on his online profile that I didn’t like, and I was sure he wasn\u2019t a match for me.) I had promised myself that after this date I was going on hiatus. I needed a rest from dating. <\/p>\n
I showed up and he was waiting; pretty good looking, I thought. We each ordered Polly\u2019s blend; talked for about an hour; and then moved to Open Sesame for lunch. Two nights later we had dinner at L\u2019Opera and hopped over to the Madison for a drink. We took our first weekend away 3 weeks later, and planned our wedding three weeks after that. On September 23rd \u2013 6 months after meeting \u2013 Larry and I married at the Renaissance Hotel on Ocean. <\/p>\n
Hmmm. Turns out that date wasn\u2019t a waste of time after all. <\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve done the math, you’ve figured out that I dated for about 30 years. (Again\u2026 let\u2019s just skip the details about that for now.) During those years \u2013 for most of which I was actively dating \u2013 I teetered between \u201cwhat\u2019s wrong with me\u201d and \u201cwhat\u2019s wrong with them.\u201d I also had \u201cwho needs a partner anyway\u201d years when I swore I didn’t care and wasn\u2019t looking. But the truth is, I was always looking. <\/p>\n
I just didn’t know where to look, how to get their attention, and what the heck to say and do once I actually found someone. It\u2019s like the first time I went fishing: the possibility of catching a fish was exciting, yet I was petrified because I had no idea what I\u2019d do with that weird slippery thing once I caught it.<\/p>\n
Why am I telling you all this? Because I finally figured it out. Because now I live my life with the best partner I could have hoped for. I had a great life before I married, but I have an even better one now. And it\u2019s my mission to help others do what I learned to do: get out there, have some fun meeting people and dating, and find a meaningful connection with someone spectacular. <\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t matter if you’re looking for a spouse or for someone to hang with and share some intimacy\u2026 devoting even a little concentrated time and effort will surely bring you closer to what you’re looking for.
You probably already know that this isn’t always easy. And it\u2019s not always fun. You might be rejected, you might make some bad choices, you might not find anyone you especially like for some time. For some (like me) it\u2019s especially challenging; we people \u201cof a certain age\u201d have a boatload of old attitudes and habits to wade through and sort out. <\/p>\n
But if you take the time and give it your attention, you’re likely to find someone you have a rockin\u2019 time with, you can bear your soul to, you can count on, and with whom you can (fill in your own blank here).<\/p>\n
Even though there are hundreds of thousands of single people within a 20-mile radius of you, for most of you love won’t just show up at your door. So, I’m here to help you go out and get it. I’m going to give you real-life strategies and advice, cheer you on, offer up ideas, teach you about how we all differ, keep you focused, and stoke your fire when it needs stoking. (By that I mean keep you motivated.) <\/p>\n