By Cheryl Mattox Berry
I’ve overheard and engaged in the most interesting conversations at the gym.
Before my Zumba class started one day, Tony, a Venezuelan in his early 20s, said he liked my hair. We wear a similar curly hairstyle except his is blond.
He asked if he could touch my hair. I let him, and then, I felt his tight coils, which were dry and crunchy from bleaching and hair products. Jokingly, I said, “Now we have to get married since we’ve become so intimate.”
“You want to marry me?” he asked.
“No, I was just joking,” I assured him.
“I thought you knew I wanted to get married so I can stay in the United States. If you know someone who will marry me, let me know.”
At first, I got a good chuckle out of the encounter. Then, it saddened me to know that people are so desperate that they would go to such extremes.
The New Dating Game
A fitness trainer with a young woman trailing behind him walked up to another trainer.
“Aren’t you bisexual?” he asked the man, who was working with a client.
“Yeah,” the man said.
“She’s bisexual, too,” he said, pointing to the woman. “Y’all should get together.”
I laughed and asked, “Is that how introductions are made these days?”
“Oh, yeah. You have to know right away what you’re dealing with,” said the first trainer.
That was dating among the thirty-something crowd.
Dating in Your Fifties
Michelle’s father, age 84, is her example of a true gentleman. He’s courteous, respectful, attentive and treats every female – no matter her age – like a lady.
If a man doesn’t measure up to her dad, forget about it. One man in particular lost his chance when he sent her an email with the following salutation. “SUP.” Translated, it means “What’s up.”
MIchelle didn’t think it was cute or funny, and she deleted the email.
The lesson: Use proper English and not slang when addressing women unless you know that she speaks that way.
Shopping Off the Beaten Path
It’s too hot to wear tight, black capris to ride my bike. When I went shopping for shorts, they all looked like panties. I haven’t worn athletic shorts since I was a serious runner twenty years ago so I didn’t know how hard it was to find shorts that hit me at mid-thigh.
I told my daughter, and she suggested that I buy the cotton shorts she was wearing. They’re sold at H&M and come in all colors up to a size large. A couple of days later, I went to the store and tried on a pair. They’re still a little shorter than I like, but I don’t feel like I’m riding my bike half naked.