The Things Memories Are Made Of....

"Sometimes when you look back on a situation, it wasn't all you thought it was. A beautiful girl walked into your life. You fell in love. Or did you? Maybe it was only a childish infatuation, or maybe just a brief moment of vanity."
-Henry Bromel, Northern Exposure, 1991

My wonderful friend, Daliwood, posted a hilarious story about bad dates on his blog. Many people commented with their own failed attempts to make connections with someone. Some of the stories were really bad, but oddly funny. It's like a car wreck. You don't want to look but you do anyway.

In the same vein of thought, I offer my post. This is about the best date I ever had. It wasn't all that fancy or entertaining, but it was soulful. It started with a nice fire on this guy's back porch on a very cold January night. We added some Irish Whiskey for me and some beer for him. For the next hour or so we sat by the fire, talked about everything from politics to sledding in the snow. We laughed and we drank, a lot. When the fire died down, we went inside and continued the conversation until the wee hours. There was no movie, no popcorn, no dinner at Outback Steakhouse, nothing to indicate a formal date. Yet it was one of the best "dates" I had ever had. Just two people, talking and being themselves without pretense.

We dated a few more times but, alas, he and I were in different places in our lives. I had been divorced for a while. The pain of divorce was still fresh for him. I hold no ill feelings for him. If anything, I'm grateful for the experience of our "dates".

So, dear readers, do you have a "special date"? A time when you caught "lightening in a bottle" with another person. I'd like to hear about it. I'd also like to know just how many people ended up in a serious, long-term relationship with this other person. My theory is that most of us don't end up with the person we "connect" with. We end up with the person who best fits our personal dysfunction.

Anyway, does anybody have something to add?