I don't usually do matchmaking, but a recently-divorced woman friend of mine has been asking me if I know any single men in her age group, which is located somewhere between the first bloom of youth and midlife crisis.
I also have a man friend who's single, smart, employed, approximately her age and looking for love. I realized the two of them might be a perfect match.
To set up their first date, I began by talking to the man. He asked a lot of questions about my woman friend, such as was she employed, did she go to college, did she drink beer and did she like sports? My answer to all those questions was yes.
"One more question," he said. "Has she ever been married?"
"Yes," I said. "Five times."
"Five times?" he said. "If she's been married five times, something is obviously wrong with her."
"Nothing is wrong with her," I said. "She's so beautiful and smart, everyone wants to marry her. We'd all be married five times if we had the kind of love opportunities she's presented with."
"I dunno," he said. "She sounds like trouble."
"Think about it," I said. "Call me tomorrow."
Then I talked to the woman friend. She asked the same questions he asked, including the one about being married.
"He's never been married," I said.
"If he's never been married, something is obviously wrong with him," she said.
"Nothing is wrong with him," I said. "He was busy getting his career going before he made a commitment to marriage and children."
"I dunno," she said. "He sounds like trouble."
"Think about it," I said. "Call me tomorrow."
Neither one ever called me again.
I'm glad I got rid of them. They were both trouble.
(A version of this blog post appeared in February of 2015. I still haven’t heard from either one of them.)