BarbaraRose wrote:...Janice, tell us more about this e-mail penpal friend of yours!! Nosey minds want to know!
Hmmm ... let me give you some background on my Wisconsin friend. About 16 months ago, I put up a post on RV.net -- a post I now call the "whiny thread." In it, I lamented how lonely it is to travel alone, and said that when I exclaim out loud when seeing something beautiful on the road, I startle the dogs. I said I wished I had a "partner in crime" to travel with.
I received a number of responses from single guys on the road. But this fellow from Wisconsin was just a lot of fun, a widower like me, and we have been emailing almost daily since then. He's a good man. Well, Mr. Wisconsin was supposed to come thru St. George to see me last fall ... and he sputtered and puttered until it was too late. So I was surprised when he actually started heading this way.
I thanked him for driving out of his way (to an Oregon TT rally) in order to see me. And he blinked and said, "No ... this trip is to see YOU." He's nine years older than I am, and there are two lifestyle hurdles. One is that he smokes. The other, more difficult one is that he drinks more than I'd like. I am actually a recovering alcoholic (nearly 24 years sober) and as a general rule don't put myself in the position of being around alcohol.
I could date someone whose version of drinking is a glass of wine (and probably not finishing a second drink, if he orders one) while out to dinner, with very little thought of alcohol the rest of the time. I have no business being with a daily drinker. Both of those habits also concern me because Mr. W isn't taking care of his health.
Over the past year and a half, I've come a long way. I was so lonely at the time of the "whiny post" and life today is much more full and gratifying. AND, I'm still hurting from the ending with Mr. San Juan Island. So the meeting with Mr. W was uncomfortable.