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Blind
Date
by Lu Huskey |
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The
phone rings at 3:00 Monday afternoon and it is your best girlfriend
Jenny, inviting you to dinner next weekend. What a nice
thought, until she tells you there is “this guy she just knows
you’ll like”.
Do
these “arranged situations” ever work out; these blind dates
that well meaning friends and families attempt to arrange for
all of us at some point in our lives? What do we have to
lose anyway? Well, let’s just look at what happened when
Jenny tried to do this favor for her friend Lisa!
It
had been a long Monday for Lisa, and she was ready for a friendly
voice on the telephone. When she heard from Jenny, it was
the bright spot in her day. Little did Lisa know what an
impact this call would have on her life for the next few weeks. Jenny
invited her to a restaurant they had both been anxious to try
out; a new little Italian place with red checked tablecloths,
a real live violinist, and a tempting selection of wonderful
foods and wines. This was just what she was needed to plan
for to help her get through her week!
But
wait, there’s a catch, and he has a name. Jenny knows this
fellow named Bob who just moved to town and is a really nice
guy. She thought it would be “fun” to do a double date
Saturday night with Bob and his friend from work. It sounded
harmless since they’ve both wanted to try out the new place,
so Lisa accepted Jenny’s invitation and they both made plans
to meet at Berelli’s Saturday night.
So
far, these girls are doing the right thing by meeting these guys
at the restaurant and not being picked up. They don’t know
them very well and if for some reason, one (or both) need to
duck out, neither will be stuck without wheels.
The
weekend rolled around soon enough and Jenny and Lisa had taken
a little trip the mall to shop for a couple of cute dresses and
matching shoes. They helped each other with their hair
that Saturday afternoon, and almost felt like young schoolgirls
going out on their first date. In a way it was, for Lisa,
since it was her first blind date. She had never done anything
like this before, and although she was looking forward to being
with her friend, she was a little hesitant about meeting this
guy Bob. Anyway, it was just a dinner and that would be
it.
They
jumped into the car and drove over to Berelli’s, making sure
they were “fashionably” late (but just 10 minutes), not to appear
over anxious to their gentleman waiting. Bob and William
had already gotten a nice table and ordered a bottle of wine,
so the scene was set for a lovely evening. What a cute
place this new little restaurant was! It looked like a
page right out of Italy, with the tables set so beautifully,
music filling the room, and Jenny even noticed a quaint little
dance floor near the violinist for those who wished to become
a little romantic. This was just what she needed, and Bob
looked pretty good too. He had a nice smile, good looking
suit, and pulled out her chair for her when she sat down. This
man is right out of a storybook! Who ever said blind dates
are a mistake anyway?
As
the evening progressed, the couples seemed to enjoy each other’s
company and all four were convinced Berelli’s was a dining experience
that they would recommend to their other friends. Lisa
was so glad that she decided to take Jenny up on her offer. Actually
she had never tried blind dating until that night because of
all the horror stories told in the past. She had heard
tales of all sorts, and although they were true, perhaps they
were exaggerated a bit. They planned another date the next
weekend and Jenny hoped that her first blind date would be her
last. Bob very well just may be the “Mr. Right” she had
been waiting for.
Now
that is the way a story should always go, with a happy ending;
however, girls (and guys) beware of the blind date. Make
sure you handle yourself in a manner that doesn’t allow yourself
to be taken advantage of in any way, especially with wine flowing
freely all night long. Many times if you have “let
your guard down” you can find yourself in a situation you may
not be able to handle. For example, if you are really attracted
to someone and let him know it, he can sometimes get the wrong
impression. It just is always a good idea not to be too
friendly on first dates (and sometimes second and third dates)
until you really get to know the person and you are certain he
respects your wishes.
When
employers hire new people, they many times do reference checks,
and sometimes even background checks before they hire. You
can do the same type of thing by making sure someone knows this
person you plan to go out with and hopefully knows something
about his past. The last thing you want is to fall in love
with some guy or gal who ends up with the reputation of violence
or some other seedy problem. These kinds of situations
happen all the time. “But they would never happen to me…” we
all believe; but they can, so we much be smart about where we
go and with whom we go out with.
Lisa
got lucky and met the man of her dreams, but unfortunately, that
isn’t always the way it works. Thinking back to her story,
she originally just planned to have a nice evening and things
just happened to work out much better than she expected. Meeting
new people is fun; just be sure and use good common sense and
keep a safe distance until you know exactly what you are getting
into. |
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Lu
Huskey is an aspiring writer, liturgical musician, and owner
of her own consulting company. Her experience in relationships
is reflected in a successful 20 years marriage and being a mother
of three.
Lu
writes for DrDating – a web site for anyone looking for love
online. We have hundreds of articles, E-Books and links to some
great dating and love sites all over the world. DrDating also
offers reviews of some of the most popular dating sites and books.
http://www.DrDating.com |
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