I had caught her that summer, although it's probably more accurate to say she had caught me. One of the best summers of my life. I was taking a gap year and working 9-5 at an easy law firm job in the accounting department. She had the weekends off. I gave her a key to my place so she could come over on Fridays. She did not have to be back at her employers' place until Sunday night. We were both pretty much broke but still had a lot of fun hanging in the park with a large crew playing volley ball and drinking beer after I had done my morning rides around MLK and Kelly Drives.

But then she went home to Gothenberg and I went off to law school. I harbored this stupid fantasy that we would see each other a couple of times a year and then she would move here when I was done with school.

I found her on Facebook many years ago. She's married and has an autistic child.

Wordle

You'll like me later. Or not.

She was gorgeous, but when I got to Sweden I realized that she was only slightly above average by Swedish standards. :)

No.

Yes? I had to quote this to see the link. Sad. And the link does not exist.

Could you give me the executive summary please??

Did you meet her in Lake Woebegone on one of your cross-country bike packing trips? :D

Nice walk this morning.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8d766e4506.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c2843fbc3b.jpg

On the subject of my romantic woes...

Finally got up the nerve this afternoon to ask out the produce market girl. I thought there was a chance. We had have been chatting briefly about food when I shopped there. Then around New Years I did a look-back after paying and walking away and caught her doing a look-back at me.

Alas, she told me she has a "partner." Probably for the best as it appears there is a large age gap between us. Hard to tell if she's early 30s and looks older or early 40s and looks younger, or something in between. Still, she seems really cool so I decided that I would be a fool if there was a possibility and I let it slip away through inaction. She was very nice about the whole thing, saying she would take my asking her out as a compliment.

^^^ Gotta tidy up your masking over the trunk a little ;)

Bummer, it got deleted.

Was a rip on dad jokes. Showed a spectator at a sporting event walking up and touching the back of a camera guy.

Why? Because he jacket said "PRESS" on the back.

Kudos for takin' the shot.

No. I met her at the now-gone Murphy's Tavern at 44th & Spruce in Philly. She actually spoke to me first.

Let's not discuss the townie I met at the laundry mat in Isle, MN, on the shore of Mille Lacs, while riding across the country.

oof. just as well you brought all the boat swag last year. There goes the next few years boat swag. BTW, over here they would need scaffolding to work on the outside of your house. That long ladder wouldn't be legal. It adds even more $$ to repairs.

Thanks. I am shy when it comes to that sort of thing, and I had no asked anyone out in person (met people on line) in a long time. I feel somewhat bummed but also relieved.

I approve. Reminds me of the "Far Side" comic with the gifted school and kid pushing on the door that says "pull."

This

That sounds exactly like something that should be discussed. :p

I know what you mean. I was the same way, but exposing yourself to disappointment is much better than wondering about what might have been.

Right. The sign says "Midvale School for the Gifted", so for decades now, whenever one of us tries to open a door the wrong way, the other says, "Midvale". We even passed it along to The Boys.

Lying on your deathbed thinking you shoulda jumped that girl who was clearly interested, back in Sophomore year in college.

Of course, the way memory works, on your deathbed you might 'remember' that you did jump her, even if it never happened!

I'll probably qualify for a lower tier Helga.

Nothing wrong with an age gap.

Should have told her she could bring her partner. You might have been pleasantly surprised. On the other hand, . . ..

Lplo

ftfy

Let's just say that I found out several years later that she and her then boyfriend (who I assumed was the father of her child) got arrested on suspicion of cooking meth when the cops came to their house after receiving a report about a possible domestic disturbance. Her name: Crystal. I kid you not.

Oof.

When you get older and start thinking about retirement and funding healthcare costs, that's another matter entirely. Hear me now and believe me later.

:50:

I think I figured it out. Hard to remember having not used that camera in several years. Maybe now I can take some more shots around the neighborhood.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...735f5cc7cf.jpg

I went to Roswell for Christmas one year and it was FREEZING!.

Moron manager hired a service writer named Crystal. She was kinda scuzzy and would squat between parked cars and smoke. Customers complained about the stench and she was told not to but she kept on. I referred to her as "Crystal Meth" and after that spread around I was admonished by the idiot manager and told I could not say that anymore.

There was an obese writer who threw everyone under the bus, so to speak, so I called him Ralph Cramden. I was similarly admonished for that even though fewer people understood.

Most British homes are either olde stone cottages with half the mortar missing, no insulation, and single pane windows with no glazing, or those rowhouses with zero insulation and single pane windows with no glazing. :)