Online Dating, The Giving Tree, and Monica Lewinsky
Aug 8, 2010 Best of BOD
What does a children’s book have to do with an online dating blog you ask? Everything.
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is a classic for all ages and a classic for all times. The book tells the story of a boy and a very kind and generous tree. It covers the relationship as it evolves with age until they both are very old. The boy has become an old man. The tree has given him everything to the point of being nothing more than a good stump for sitting and resting.
Years ago at beautiful Martha’s Vineyard I saw Shel Silverstein. He was riding a bicycle. I was busy working as a television journalist covering the frenzy of the Clinton’s secluded family escape/vacation there. It was the day after President Clinton’s historic address to the nation regarding his affair or lack thereof with the woman with the most infamous stained dress in American history, Monica Lewinsky.
I could do nothing more than to thank Shel Silverstein, tell him how I admired his work, and how The Giving Tree made a difference in my life. It has and continues to do so.
My intuition just gave me the idea of starting this online dating blog. (Or at least it was the first time I heard it!) In either case, I listened and immediately followed up on creating it.
Never in a million years did I think my life would turn out the way it did. I didn’t expect to be a 40-something, single Daddy living in Arizona writing a blog that shares a voice about love, life, and finding a great relationship. But here I am doing exactly that. Perhaps the reason I often joke about how my life is living proof God has a sense of humor is because I believe it. : )
Truth be told, I can tell you The Giving Tree is on my mind and in my heart in starting this blog. I suppose it’s part of my own personal starting over…yet again.
But I believe I know how the universe works. The more you give in life, the more you get. If I help others through this blog, and am in some way instrumental in a man or a woman experiencing personal growth or finding their ideal relationship partner, then that alone would be a valuable reward.
The ultimate gift in doing this online dating blog would be if in some way it helped me to attract the woman of my dreams who I could love and give to until I am an old man who provides her with a wrinkled, but safe and comfortable place to rest.
Tags: internet dating, Monica Lewinsky, online dating, singles
Online Dating: It is what it is!
Aug 8, 2010 Best of BOD
“It is what it is. We know what it is.” Starting a new blog is a formal event in the informal communication of social media. You get only one chance to write a first post, and one opening line to compose for it. I hoped to launch BlogOnlineDating.com with a memorable message that was simple and social, but also special and playful.
Yes, I’m a true romantic at heart. But I’m also a “guy’s guy” with a sense of humor and I like being a member of both clubs. So, after spending time carrying the question about what to write for a first but lasting impression with myself and you, I reached out to an old, familiar friend.
Martin Scorcese’s classic mobsters movie “Goodfellas,” is one of my all-time favorites. I know basically every line from the film. In one scene, Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta) is told by his bosses, Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro) that his cheating on his wife Karen ( Lorraine Bracco) by moving into a love shack has gone too far. He has to go home to her right away. He has to keep up appearances. As only DeNiro can do, he simply describes the situation of Henry’s love on the side by saying, “It is what it is. We know what it is.”
And so it goes with the world of online dating. It is what it is. We know what it is. In starting this online dating blog, I could have posted another classic Conway/DeNiro line such as, “Always keep your mouth shut and never rat on your friends.” But it wouldn’t have been as positive. One of the rules to attract others through online dating sites is to be positive. You don’t have any interest in falling in love with a negative partner who’s a whiner, complainer, blamer, or professional victim, right? (Yeah I know, where was I 20 years ago when you have read this? Lol!)
When it comes to online dating it is what it is. The internet is the new “Fix me up with your friend” or virtual singles bar. Let’s enjoy the journey. Hopefully, participating in this blog will be a part of your journey for as long or short as your search for love and a relationship goes. In conclusion, I’ll be positive and look at the bright side. I may attract the lovely woman of my dreams with this blog post even though I’m writing it while sitting here in my underwear. That’s only possible through the technology of online dating. Thank you. It is what it is!
Tags: internet dating, online dating, singles