Chapter Twenty: Happily ever after.

Dick and Jill

On his date, Dick doesn’t talk excessively or obsessively about the mechanics of dating. To him it is not like crossing deepest darkest Africa in a Toyota Land Cruiser; every mud-hole is not an invitation to hold forth on the various philosophies of digging out with a discourse on the pros and cons of each. That is for tea-time in Tipperary, and he can regale hoped for progeny with the stories of his exploits in good time.

To have a good date, you need to talk about matters of substance. If you can't talk about matters of substance, take a moment and consider what that means. If there is nothing in the brain box, what are you selling? You need to have a character to be investigated, and your opinions are a reflection of that character, but not the substance of it. Read the news. Ask questions about your the opinions of your opposite number. If you have nothing to say, READ A BOOK. That's why we learn in grade school. If your date has nothing to say, they are at another step in the road to maturity. Be kind, and move on. If all else fails, and you just can't abide the whole mess, but you are convinced you have something useful and valid to offer, WRITE A BOOK and try to change the system. I know I did.

Jill, of course, is delighted with Dick’s high school frog breeding experiment and he is fascinated with the idea of spending weekend dates at the Zoo feeding animals. Jill finds that he does not know that the sex of alligators is determined by their hatching temperature and they begin to have a wonderful discussion. True they will need to know where each other stand on budgeting, and geographical locations (remember Komodo Island? Jill doesn’t necessarily want to go there!) These things will come up over time, and will start in small matters (where do you want to go to the movie?) and as they get to know each other’s character, they will decide that their love is written in the stars.

Jack and Jane hook up after a successful high school game, and she continues to cheer him on to a winning season. Jack’s hand had migrated north from her middle thigh, and Jane told him he was going nowhere without a condom. He stopped and gained her respect.

This is not a book on marriage. I guess it has been a book on how to date. I wish you all the best… go get ‘em.