SINGLE LIFE

Taking A Chance
On Romance

ROBIN SOSLOW

Special to The Jewish News

Y

ou're at work, lodged
behind your desk, forcing
yourself to finish reading the
latest status report. Then the
phone rings.
It's someone you don't
know (but with a very pleas-
ant voice) calling to con-
gratulate you on your job
promotion, which was re-

Robin Soslow is a freelance
writer in Ocean City, Md.

cently announced in the lo-
cal trade and business jour-
nals. How thoughtful, you
think, grateful for the praise
as well as the break from
work.
The person discusses his
or her own professional in-
volvement, then gets around
to confirming if you're
unattached — as perhaps
implied in the article or re-
vealed by some mutual col-
league. Finally, the caller
asks if you'd like to meet for
lunch next Tuesday.
That's not a bad strategy

Ways to
meet new
people
pop up all
around us.

for meeting other single pro-
fessionals, but it's certainly
a bold one.
The caller risks being re-
jected (articulately or oth-
erwise). Or the charmed re-
cipient might wind up the
victim of some kinky corpo-
rate groupie. The bottom
line is: Would you be willing
to take a chance on ro-
mance?
If the answer's "yes" or
"maybe," you'll find in-
spiration, ideas and advice
in the examples that follow.
If the answer's "no," read

on so you'll at least be pre-
pared for potential ad-
vances.
Despite the contention of
some spoilsports that ro-
mance is dead, countless
men and women out there
can share true-life tales of
unconventional but
imaginative alternatives to
personal ads and blind
dates.
After articles appeared
about my first book, I re-
ceived (via the publications
that printed them) several
calls and letters from men
claiming to be single.
They gathered through
the articles that I was (A)
humorous, (B) educated, (C)
a good cook and (D) single
(after all, the book's name
was The Official Single
Woman's Cookbook). Of
course, one shouldn't
assume anything nowadays.
However, if I wasn't already
involved in a relationship, I
probably would have ac-
cepted the aircraft execu-
tive's invitation to lunch.
Speaking of aviation, a
dear friend of mine is now
married to a man she met in
an airport waiting area. Af-
ter watching quietly as she
carefully penned notes on
postcards, Joe gathered the
courage to introduce himself
to Buena. As he had hoped,
she was booked on the same
flight — and once they
boarded the plane, he fina-
gled a seat next to hers.
And here's some more
flighty behavior.
Richard received a
misdialed phone call one
lonely evening. It was a
wrong number, but he liked
the voice at the other end so
much that he kept her on the
line with a series of jokes
and anecdotes.
By the end of the hour-
long call, Richard had learn-
ed her name, confirmed she
was single and engineered a
date so they could see if they
liked each other as much in
person. They did — at least
for a year. By the way, this
was no teenage love affair:
Richard is a California pub-
lisher, and the woman is an
attorney.
Men, however, do not al-
ways make the first move.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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