Meridith.
While I dont' agree with most of what you have said I do agree with one thing. It's an old cliche that I firstheardyearsago when women were finally gettting equal wagesadn promotions.. "A man is considered a failureif he cant get a job. A woman is considereda failure if she cant get a man.

Summer Breeze.
I'm going to get into one of my more notorious habits and gender reverse this post. See if you would take the same stance if the genders were reversed.
==========================
I will have to admit I know nothing about this, being married 36 yrs and not dating since I was 17, what do I know???

I have had buddies that completely changed, friendship wise and personality wise once they started dating. They had both been divorced.

OK, here is where I get confused, I would think at the age of 54-56 we would be a little more mature than when we were 16. My latest experience is being with a friend on a vacation when at the last minute, the girlfriend is joining us for our "guys vacation". Luckily my brother-in-law was with me, so I wasn't left all alone.

I was surprised to see him running after her like a little puppy dog, ignoring that fact that they left me and my bro standing there. I was not about to do just what she wanted to do, I wasn't on a leash.

So to cut it short, I was surprised at how quickly people can turn into drooling, immature kids, not caring about others, giggling and acting like no one else was there.

So am I old or what?? This prob doesnt at all explain it, I understand that he will not be around much with me, which is ok. It just bothers me to see him completely drop what was his life and change it into her life in less than 4 months.
====================
There you have it summer. If the new girlfriend is you, if you end up intrudinginto this guys holiday, would you still expect him to pay as much attention to his buddies as to you?

While I was picking out toilet paper(of all things) this very attractive, clean cut African- American man approached me and simply said,"I wanted to pay you a compliment. You're beautiful".
================================
ROTFLMAO
The old supermarket strikes again. It is and has been for years the most successful pick up joint.
Paticularily for us guys. We don't have to run a gauntlent of hostile bouncers to get past the front door.
The girls arent a bunch of weeping drunks howing about what creeps the men are.
And they don't start screaming about harrassment if we pay them compliments.

I think the best thing a woman of my age..54...can do for herself is to take care of herself, physically, mentally and spiritually. If a man comes along who appreciates that, younger or older, then he is worth investigating. The ones my age who are pursuing 20 or 30 somethings would not interest me either!!!
ARI

I always have men hitting on me in the grocery store. What's up with that? Somebody told them it was the place to meet single women? I'm wearing my wedding band, minding my own business and here they come...asking me a question about cooking or something really stupid. I mean, does it say, Chef or Store Manager on my back? My daughter is always embarrassed because I'm rude. I know exactly what they're doing. They must be 80 years old too. Good grief Louise.

P.S.

I just had a thought. I must look 80 years old too or they wouldn't be bothering me.

Sparticus, I also have friends who completely change when a new date or flavor of the month comes on the scene. I'm suddenly forgotten.

Advice for women who are single and looking (BTW I personally find nothing wrong with that as long as no one sells their soul).

Men should go to the grocery store to meet women cause that's where women hang out. But women should go to the home improvement store to meet men cause that's where they hang out.
When I was single and even now if I go alone, I always meet men at Lowes and Home Depot. I never actually dated any of them, but they were nice people and I got a lot of nice compliments, free advice, and help with various carpentry projects.
I always have to hang out at love Lowes and Home Depot when I'm doing a play. I'm usually there late at night wandering around looking for some weird thing and men come out of the woodwork to help. I think they love bumfuzzled women especially if we are doing something totally weird like building trees or trying to fly a child or adult over a moat or building a puppet theater.

Another way I met men was using my convertible as a pickup. When doing a play, I put the top down and haul lumber, equipment, and sets to and from the theater. And I have to do it rain, shine, or snow. Men in pickups have followed me to the lumber yard or theater and helped me unload or just stopped to talk. A couple of times I have even recruited them as set builders.

Just my advice.
smile

I smell a rat here and when has Sparticuss been a womans name? Wake up and smell the roses ladies me thinks we've been had once again....Maybe Interloper would be a better name.

Hi, Chatty,
I have read posts where I thought Sparticuss said she/he was a woman speaking from a man's point of view, but this morning I read a post in which he says he is in fact a man, and his location is listed as Australia.
Perhaps it would be good to clarify whether it is okay for men to post on this forum. I found his(?) insights thought-provoking.
ARI

I haven't found his comments to be thought provoking. They sound to be merely defensive to me. I can't for the life of me figure out why a man would want to hang out in a forum full of women. Perhaps as a lurker, with the intent of learning something about 'how women tick'. But to reply defensively our posts and imply by this same defensiveness that our thoughts, impressions, and feelings are invalid - well, that just seems like more of the same ol' same ol' that gave us our opinions in the first place. Don't believe it? Go back and re-examine the posts. Look how far back in forum history those threads were started. Instead of participating in what we have been discussing NOW, Sparticuss chose to reintroduce threads in which he had a stated agenda, i.e. defending the male perspective of what we had to say about certain subjects. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but ladies, really - part of the benefit of this forum is to have our FEMALE opinions validated. I, for one, have no interest in seeing the man's point of view in our discussions because we, as Boomers, have worked hard to determine who we are by our own reckoning. We've all spent more than enough time trying to live up to someone else's idea of whom we SHOULD be; most often those ideas of whom we should be were given to us by men. Spart, if you are a woman, I'm sorry for your troubles. If you are a man, consider yourself ignored. Dotsie, please forgive me for being contentious - this forum is to me like hallowed ground - and I aplogize for any desecration I may have caused with my post. Feel free to hit the big DELETE key.