Friday, March 19, 2010

Joe3 - Snow Day

After I got back from my ride yesterday, I went over to visit my friend/neighbor/landlord, Judi. A guy had been over last weekend to buy some hay for his cows and horses. In addition to the animals, the man owns several motorcycles, including a Harley - or two or three. Judi told him that I ride, and he gave her his phone number with instructions to call. At any other time in my life, I probably wouldn't have. This is the great thing about the project. I had to call. It's work, right?

Our conversation was a little awkward. He was messing with me at first, and I didn't quite get it. I wasn't expecting that so soon, and I was caught off guard. We talked a bit, and somehow the subject came up about drinking. I can't remember the context, but I mentioned that I don't drink. The conversation screeched to a halt. There was a short recovery period, and then it was over. I expected that I wouldn't hear from him again.

Lo and behold, Joe3 called just after noon today and asked if I wanted to go to lunch in Kersey. It's snowing, so it wouldn't be a motorcycle trip, but he'd stop by and pick me up. It was nice that he already knew where I live, since it can be hard for people to understand just how far out in no-man's land I am.

When Judi gave me the number, I asked for a little information. She said he was older than me, probably around her husband's age. That was reasonable. I'm 48, and her husband is around 60. When we'd spoken, Joe3 told me that he had horses and cows and motorcycles and an airplane and all kinds of neat toys. I expected him to show up in a big sexy dually, but alas, it was a beat up old Ranger. OLD Ranger. When he got out of the truck, I quickly estimated about a 20 year age difference between the two of us. People are often shocked to find out that I have a son that's 25, because they think I couldn't possibly have a kid that old. I love it. I imagine this guy was thinking, "Score!" I was thinking, "I'm sure he's a very nice guy, and I'll enjoy lunch."

It turned out we were meeting a friend of his there, which was fine with me. We all had fun and laughed a lot. We got back in his pickup after lunch, and Joe3 showed me some pictures of his horses, cows and motorcycles. His antique bikes are very nice. We drove back to the cornfields in the snow, and he dropped me off.

I immediately went over to the neighbor's house and told her that I appreciated her participation in my project, but this was more of an age difference than I am interested in. Then the rest of the story came out. It wasn't Judi that thought this up. Her friend from Denver, who I've never met, volunteered me as a date when she found out that Joe3 owned a few Harleys. Judi wasn't paying a lot of attention and went along with it. We both agreed that he might be fun to take a ride with from time to time, but that's about it.

Lessons learned:

1. I don't pay a lot of attention to my car, and it tends to get cluttered and dusty. I really need to keep on top of that. A trashy car doesn't make a good first impression.

2. Guys, if you're going to be showing your date pictures of you draped over scantily-clad women at Sturgis, make sure they're hot. I've been around rallies and the biker scene for a long time. This doesn't offend me. However, if you're hanging all over skanks, it's a turn-off.

4 comments:

Patty said...

SOOOOO funny! Pictures of skanks are definitely a turn-off - for both males and females!

Judi said...

Abby, Just wanted to let you know that Inger and I aim to please. We are in the process of looking for some 28 year old biker dude for Joe 4.

Abby said...

Judi, you are the best friend/neighbor/landlord a person could ask for. :-)

Mary said...

This is a great project. You should let your readers vote on either: a. who you date b. who we choose for you; something like that - like a Bachelorette show. Might be fun!