A Dating Story From My Youth

One of my first "Big Dates" was a Cotillion dance in 8th grade...or was it seventh? Cotillion was an attempt by a local "grande dame" to nurture refined manners in a group of young teens along with ballroom dancing instruction. I think it was a truly nerve wracking experience for most of us! Once a week we would walk a couple blocks from the middle school to the K of C Hall located on the 3rd floor of a downtown building. A virtual skyscraper in our town! Guys wanting a little money would hang about by the door and help the instructor out of her car ...open the door. These kind of brownie points paid a couple bucks cash! If you were really good you would carry some of her stuff up the 3 flights of worn wooden stairs. It was one of those buildings that are mystifyingly old...the major mystery to me being that they haven't burned down!

We would then partner up and learn the rhumba, the foxtrot, the bossa nova, jitterbug, waltz etc. Every so often we would switch partners and during the session you would dance with each of the 50 girls a couple times. All very open stance and supervised...but still at that age, and for a nerdy guy still in his Clark Kent frames it was something of a thrill.

Jenny (names have been changed to protect the sweet and innocent) was a cute little girl from my neighborhood. She lived about 4 blocks away so I only saw her when I was walking home. Her family had a tree between the sidewalk and street with a trunk that was curved from years of kids passing by and jumping up to hang from it...at least I think I wasn't the only one! Many days Jenny would be waiting by that tree till I passed by and smile nervously saying "Hi". I too would say "Hi". Sometimes I even said it first! But always continuing on my way. God only knows what disasters would have occured if I had stopped to talk any further! But this was earthshaking stuff making my head spin on the rest of my walk home.

Well this brazen flirting continued and the pitch of her "Hi's" became higher and happier. When it was time to invite someone to the dance I found the number in the phone book and spent an hour or so making myself nervous. One of Jenny's 300 sisters answered the phone and I heard much yelling for her and thumping up and down stairs...I nearly hung up in fear! This was much worse than when the german shephard down the street was chomping on my leg as I rode past on my bike!

I don't remember the conversation with Jenny...I may have blacked out. But I know it was successful because weeks later I found myself at her house in a suit in this predicament with an enourmous corsage and no clue of how to pin it to her dress. Thankfully her mother came to the rescue. Her mom still laughs about that when she see's me.

After that awkward scene things got better. We sat with friends and ate, all joking around. Jenny and I actually remembered the different dances and impressed the leader of the orchestra a little. Music, friends and dancing with a childhood crush. There was nothing more to it than that. Really when compared to some of my more recent dates, it is perfect in comparison.

Matt Matcherson is a writer musician and humorist. Sometimes he even writes funny music. His site MatchTales brings dating stories, site reviews and free dating support forums to the web.

http://www.matchtales.com

Latest News


ABC News

Balfour jealous Hudson sis was dating
United Press International - 15 hours ago
4 (UPI) -- William Balfour, the man charged with killing three members of Jennifer Hudson's family, was jealous his estranged wife was dating, ...
Video: Prosecutor: Jealousy Drove Hudson Family Killer AssociatedPress
Lawyers: Hudson in-law angered by wife's dating The Associated Press
Hudson Murder Suspect Angry Over Wife's Dating Mom Logic
The Press Association - ABC News
all 2,540 news articles

phillyBurbs.com

Westwick and Szohr Dating?
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - Dec 3, 2008
There's a new couple on the set of "Gossip Girl" -- Ed Westwick and Jessica Szohr are reportedly dating. Westwick was rumored to be involved with actress ...
Gossip Girl stars smootch at airport phillyBurbs.com
New couple on the Gossip Girl set? Canada.com
all 14 news articles

Amanda Bynes & Hills Player Doug Reinhardt Dating
E! Online - 18 hours ago
But it seems we had her all wrong, because she is apparently dating the dude who was too boring for even Lauren Conrad: Doug Reinhardt. ...

Examiner.com

Tips for Better On-line Dating Photos
Examiner.com - 12 minutes ago
by Elizabeth Aloni, Chicago Relationships Examiner In addition to having a good profile for on-line dating, your photos are very important. ...

meetMoi Launches Real-Time Location Updates for Revolutionary ...
PR Web (press release), WA - 5 hours ago
The next generation of mobile dating is now available on Blackberry, Windows, Symbian and Android phones. meetMoi allows users to share location 24 hours a ...
Xtify Launches Platform to Revolutionize Location Based Services ... PR Web (press release)
all 4 news articles

LAist

Kirsten Dunst dating filmmaker Jacob Soboroff
Oneindia, India - Dec 4, 2008
Washington (ANI): Hollywood actress Kirsten Dunst has bid her single status goodbye, for she's dating filmmaker Jacob Soboroff, according to reports. ...
When a Hot Celebrity Dates a Local Blogger... LAist
Kirsten Dunst snags activist/director Jacob Soboroff? Los Angeles Times
DUNST FINDS LOVE AGAIN PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)
Just Jared - Hollyscoop
all 19 news articles

Video: Mary Kay Joins With Amanda Bynes to Help End Teen Dating ...
SYS-CON Media, NJ - 29 minutes ago
... Mary Kay Inc. has teamed up with Amanda Bynes and non-profit partner Break the Cycle to raise awareness and end teen dating violence Amanda Bynes ...

The Age

9 year old writes dating book
College News, IL - 15 hours ago
A Today interview revealed what inspired the tiny dating guru to write his book. “I saw boys around the playground having trouble getting girls — just not ...
US schoolboy publishes guide to dating Telegraph.co.uk
9-Year-Old's Dating Advice Book Sky News
Nine-year-old's dating guide wows singles Ninemsn
Melbourne Herald Sun - Toronto Star
all 29 news articles

Share Your Online Dating Experiences and Singles Social Behaviour ...
24-7PressRelease.com (press release) - 5 hours ago
Your chance to participate in research based on the sexual behaviour and social patterns for singles who use online dating sites. ...

Teenage Relationships and Dating
Jackson Sun, TN - 2 hours ago
As if peer pressure and puberty weren’t sometimes confusing enough, this is also the time most teenagers start dating. School dances, parties and football ...

Resources