esrosedotblog

AD IT UP

John and I met through a personal ad. I had placed it. This was back in the mid-70's when there was no internet or chat room; although these are not too far off what we did then through alternative papers. It was a controlled form of cruising.

In many ways it was quite successful. In others, not. Like any such operation, there were the slicksters who lied about their dimensions and interests. Why anyone would do this, I do not know. Sooner or later, what is big is going to get small, what is muscle will become flab, what goes up must come down. The impact of such truths upon the eventual date, if any, has to be catastrophic. Nonetheless, people would lie like hell.

I often wondered if this was to actually speed the rejection process or perhaps, since there was always a phone call involved, a means to have surreptitious phone sex; an alternative to the blind call with heavy breathing. Occasionally, while chatting with some stranger, there would be the accelerated respiration rate followed by the long sigh; then 'click'. 'Gotcha'.

Some of us became grand investigators of the possible scam. My specialty was the drive-by. "Meet me outside the Colonnade Hotel on Huntington". I would drive past slowly and take a look. If I had a winner, I would park in the upstairs Colonnade lot; if not, well, not. I remember one cold winter night when the geek who had called was obviously freezing. As I glided by, I thought about stopping just to get him inside and maybe have some cocoa. But, I took another look and hardened my heart as I kept on driving. Respondents were not the only ones engaging in cruelty and deception.

What started all this is an article which you might need a subscription to see. It is in the Wall Street Journal on-line. Try it. Get Me Rewrite! Personal Ads Are Big Business. These are coaches and editors who will copy edit and consult on your personal ad efforts. The key here is to avoid cliché; which any devoted reader of personal ads will agree is a major problem.

We have the ad I wrote somewhere. I will not dig it out for edit and review. Perhaps, at the end, when they go through our stuff, they will find it. I do not know if I avoided cliché; but this particular ad, my fifth or sixth, I believe, was very successful. I had already 'dated' a few respondents; short, hands on-interviews; no repeat performances. Then John called. A thirty year date is not so bad, huh? We are still talking it over.