I have had the privilege to have been on this site for almost 2 years, and over that time have written to, chatted with, and met several ladies of very high caliber and profession. At first the translations and equation of words were a bit rough, but I did learn. And to all these ladies I thank them, for their insight and kind words.
But over the past few weeks I have written to two ladies, both very educated and open in their thoughts and opinions. And their to-the-point directness brings me to this thought-blog.
I am an older man(60), and not in the same physical condition as I was 20 years ago. Many different things have happened in the course of this thing called life. Some things not for the better. I was informed that physical fitness is so very important to many of these ladies, and I can see why. This is why men are here..the thought of a wonderful, lovely lady to spend the rest of their life with. "Age does not make a difference" is stated many different ways, but it is not entirely true. Older men slow down, injuries make things harder to do. And you sometimes have to step back and really take a good look at ourselves.
I am a 8-tour combat veteran, many awards and many injuries, but I still do pretty well for myself. But we have to be real on our expectations and limitations. I look in the mirror and see a well-worn man, a bit overweight, definitely not wealthy but fairly comfortable, vertically challenged(short in stature if I need to say it), and very average looking with some imperfections. What do I have to offer except myself and my thoughts and dreams of a good family life, something a previous divorce never delivered on?
I was never looking for a young bride, realistically I was looking for someone who was close to my age and interests. Hard to find when you receive 150 letters a week and all seem to be half your age. But you look through all this mail, and try to write , only to be thrown back that you aren't a good match. Or you figure out you're not going to be able to make this work, so you try to say goodbye and start over again. Sometimes a lady from the past that you didn't write reappears... a sign?
I guess my blog is this, Men..I think we need to be realistic on our searches and be true to ourselves. Ladies..Please..look at what the man can offer and be truthful to yourself in asking.."Will I be happy? . And both sides have to look at "Is this the forever I want and can be truly contented with for the rest of my life?"
I'm still looking for the forever. And I wish all who read this the best of all worlds.

oneMarine