The next day I placed the ad in the newspaper. I received nearly 100 responses that varied from the farmer who mailed me a sweet marriage proposal to the surgeon who bought me dinner at Junior’s restaurant. Most left a recorded message; unless they sounded psychotic on the recording, I returned their calls. If we “clicked,” that was great, but most of the time there was no “click” and we went our separate ways.
After
a month I placed a second ad which invited men to contact me if they
liked New York City, strolling through Central Park, and came with their
own frequent-flier miles. I was loathe to share my miles (still am), as
they are one of my most coveted possessions.
The ad only garnered about 30 responses. I met a couple of men, dating one of them for about six weeks before mutually deciding we were
not in each other’s future. It happened after a weekend trip to Dallas.
In hindsight, I realize that weekends to Dallas had played a significant
role in two of my previous breakups. I decided that if I ever wanted to
end a relationship, all I needed was a night in Dallas.
I decided to write one more ad. Amid so many women looking to meet men
(and vice versa), I needed my ad to stand out. The BMW advertisement on
the back page of the Gazette gave me what I was looking for: “Words say a lot, but the sensation of a test drive will leave you speechless.”
Using this as my title, I
penned my final ad, which said that the man I was looking for would not
be intimidated by an articulate woman and was willing to engage in an
egalitarian relationship.
I think it was the use of the word “egalitarian” that yielded me only 10 responses. It didn’t matter. Third time was a charm.
This year Brad and I will
celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. As it turns out, he had his own
frequent-flier miles, which he has generously shared with me over the
years. He also came with two beautiful daughters whom I love and adore.
I am, without question, one
of the luckiest women in the world. What made it work? We have
persevered, in good times and in bad, for better and for worse, but
mostly … we stayed away from Dallas.
—Sheila Crow
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma
Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view
in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to
edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed,
emailed to [email protected] or sent online at okgazette.com, but
include a city of residence and contact number for verification.
