I like to spend some times just talking to the person and learning about them over a meal or coffee. I like to meet them somewhere, where each of us can leave in our separate vehicles. This seems to avoid any uncomfortable time together if we really already know there won't be a second date.

You should get to know me because I am really a good life partner. I am nurturing and competent. I am fairly easy going and not difficult to be around. I have my moments, as all people do, but generally, I am very consistent and responsibile. I will do what I tell you I will do, and I am loyal to a flaw. If I make a commitment to you, it is a commitment, even if the going gets tough. I don't think any man that I have ever dated would tell you that I was not supportive and dependable. Most of them would tell you that I was cute, too.

Mostly that I like men, but are not defined by them. I am a very sensual person. I like the way a man's body feels, his skin smells, the smell of starch in his shirt, his strength when he hugs me, the rattle of his beard when he scratches his face, the way he moves through space, the rumble of his voice in his chest...those are the things I miss. I like the way he thinks and views the world. Men have a very different perspective than women in world views. I appreciate his courage and worldliness. I find that men are basically much more easily hurt than women and carry their pain longer. I have found that men need to be protected, but not mothered. A man needs a silent partner to help him face the world, who covers his back, while she looks feminine and nonthreatening. If she feels that she must take him to task, she does so in private and never attacks his masculinity or sexuality.

My family is very important. I am an only child, but grew up in a traditional Old World German extended family. We still visit and do things together. While we know that we are cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. you would be hard pressed to determine what our kinship is based on observation. We are very close by today's standards, although we are all over the U.S.

A perfect day would be one that had only problems that I could handle and that I had time to rest a little. I like to lay in bed late and read or nap, when the house smells clean. The work is mostly done, and the telephone is off. It would be more special to share it with someone...and I love rainy days. When it storms outside and is cold, I love to be all cuddled up with a warm fire, hot drink and either a great movie or a good book. When Sam Houston's wife wrote him that she wanted him to come home, she wrote that she told him how she missed him taking her upon his lap and kissing her gently, and how she missed resting her head on his shoulder and caressing his chest...and she concluded with "and I will leave the rest to your imagination." So like Mrs. Houston, I will leave the rest to your imagination.

I am a mentally and physicaly healthy individual. I am not one who will be openly aggressive, because I have worked with sexually abused individuals, so I don't touch people without specific permission...and I am careful where I touch people without their permission. Because I am a counselor I can talk about almost anything without embarrassment, and I am very open and honest about who and what I am.