 I hate talking
to people on airplanes. Even a brief hello often gets you cornered into a long,
boring conversation with a stranger who you'll never see again. I would rather
doze, read a magazine, or enjoy a little quiet after a long day. Last week was
an exception. When I boarded the 10 p.m.
flight from Dallas to Austin,
I met an interesting stranger.
He was
already in the middle seat when I arrived at our row. I got a pretty good look
at him while I was putting my briefcase in the overhead container-tall, tan,
dark hair with a smidgen of gray, light eyes. He looked athletic in the natural
sort of way, not the "I spend two hours in the gym each day" sort of way. He
said hello, and I noticed a crooked smile, which seemed child-like and
endearing. I greeted him back, grabbed my book out of my bag, and took my seat
on the aisle. We chatted briefly and I learned his name is John. He was also in
Dallas for the day on business-visiting
a client of his software company.
Our conversation
turned to Austin life, music, and
ACL. I learned that his family has been in Austin
for more than 50 years, although he attended college on the east coast. He came
back to Austin in the mid-90's and
started his own business. He has a golden retriever, no wife (I'm now in the
habit of asking), and no plans to ever leave Austin.
My kind of guy.
The quick
flight came to an end and John and I continued talking on the way to the
parking lot. We stood talking for several more minutes and he asked me if I was
interested in getting a drink. I declined because I was exhausted, but I was
definitely intrigued and tempted to accept his invite. He handed me his
business card and asked me to call him soon. I agreed, we hugged and then
parted ways. I felt that giddy, stomach-flip sensation of meeting someone new.
When I got
home, I took a closer look at John's card and realized he had a MySpace account
listed with his other contact information. I jumped online and looked him up,
expecting to see info about his software company. Instead, I found a site of
very personal information and comments. In addition to several photos depicting
John with various scantily-clad women, the theme song for his page was "Let's
get it on," by Marvin Gaye. (I couldn't make this up if I tried). As I scrolled
through the messages, I realized I was not the only woman he had tried to pick
up in recent days. The messages ranged from, "Thanks, John, for a GREAT time,"
to "You're definitely the best I've ever had." One male friend wrote, "You
lucky sonofabitch. She was gorgeous!"
So, here is
my question - Why does a guy ask a woman out and then provide her with the link
to this debauchery? Does he think I won't bother to look at the site? Does he
expect me to look at the site and then call him anyway? Is this really the card
he gives to business contacts? The scary thing is, he really did seem like a
professional, intelligent, good guy. If he hadn't provided me with this
information, I may have gone out with him. I guess I'm thankful for MySpace after
all.
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Adventures in Dating 
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