Yesterday while hiking, I thought about how to kindly let down Bashar, 65. The day before, we talked for an hour on the phone. I asked questions and let his thoughts unfurl. A retired engineer, he emigrated from Jordan at eighteen. At first, his accent was hard to understand. He was excited to meet me. Multiple concerns:
No visible sense of humor. His mom is extremely unhappy and drives him crazy, he said. Personally, I don’t like spicy Middle Eastern food that he cooks.
His second divorce was a year-and-a-half ago. He blames her (typical).
“What makes you feel happy?” I asked, a key question. “Being with a woman who loves me, wants me and has sex with me. My ex-wife refused to have sex with me.”
“I feel happy every day,” I replied. “Small things: the joy of tasting a juicy peach, crushing cedar tree growth tips and smelling my fingers, a baby's smile, exalting with the beauty of the great outdoors. All you have to do is look.”
He needs to feel happy before starting a relationship. On airplanes, the flight attendant instructs you to “put your oxygen mask on first,” before helping others.
Our lifestyles are too different.
“I don’t read and never read to my children,” he said. “How many teenage girls do you know who read Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Dickens and Dostoyevsky?” I asked. “That was you?” he asked. “Yes," I replied. "Reading enriches my life, teaches me about different cultures, people, families and countries, and feeds my hungry mind. I love reading."
Bashar’s evenings revolve around watching television, especially football. “Where is your TV located in your house?” I asked. The living room.
I have never lived in a house with a TV in the living room. Growing up in a musical family, the living room was for reading, conversations and board games. My parents played jazz and classical music records. We four kids practiced our instruments. Two pianos, one on each floor. Dad was a professional jazz trumpet player.
The TV was in a small, paneled basement room. On Sundays, Dad holed up in there smoking, drinking scotch and watching football and basketball games all day long. Using headphones, he listened to another game. Sadly, I associate the sound of TV football games with my father’s rejection and withdrawal from the family.
We lived on a lake in Michigan. I grew up swimming, sailing and ice skating.
To explain why we don’t make a good match, I told Bashar I have never lived in a house with a TV in the living room. I never bought a TV. The sound of football games on TV distracts and irritates me.
“So that’s goodbye?” Bashar asked. “Yes,” I replied. Love my peaceful home.
For me one of the deal breakers is a TV in the bedroom. I have had a TV in the bedroom a few times, but it never got watched. I dated a guy who slept with the TV on. I cannot do that. I have a fan and white noise on, but never TV. I have a 2 TVs in my house, one has not been turned on in years, it is in the basement family room. The other is in the LR, but it is a small house. I don't have cable, I do have Roku and usually watch Netflix or Amazon. My TV is on less than 2 hours a day, and likely less than that. I grew up with TV in the living room and my dad watching TV every evening and sports on the weekends. I hate sports on TV. I am not put on this world to "make" anyone happy. I am content, and I make quilts. So far this year I have read 30 books. Might be more, sometimes I forget to add them to Goodreads. I once dated a guy who had not read a book since HS. He was over 50. That and his family drama made that a short relationship.
This is an easy one, you two aren't even remotely compatible. Especially as it regards reading: your intellectual levels and interests are too different. Just tell him something innocuous and polite, but firm.
I laughed at your TV comments. I too watch NFL football, and after last years Super Bowl I unplugged it. I will plug it back in this Friday to watch a pre-season game. I do not watch network TV. I have never watched Seinfeld, Friends, reality anything, etc. It has been about two decades since I've watched a regular show. I get screen time from YouTube. Don't have cable TV. Other than football, I watch World Cup Soccer and the Olympics.
I think it is about time you start listening to me. Stop chasing all these men, they will do your head in. Just enjoy life. If you are meant to meet someone special you will but all this chasing is just no good. If you stop you will feel much better, be happy with what you got. He, he. You just do what you want girl.
I never chase men or send the first message. Men chase me.
@LiterateHiker Yeah, they're after that dime.
It's kind of odd how we change over the course of our lives. I grew up in a family that escaped reality with television. I won't deny being enchanted as a young child by the magic of well acted dramas and mysteries...mind expanding science fiction and the brilliance of Broadway Musicals. I was introduced to Jazz at the ripe young age of 6 by a friend of the family who was also a HAM Operator and had one of the first FM STEREO Radios with excellent professional headphones...oh the heavenly sounds I heard stuck with me for LIFE. Music appreciation class in JR HS caused me to become hooked on Classical music...Beethovens Pastoral Symphony would lift me above the clouds. Keep in mind my Jazz and Classical interests were dismissed by a family that thought country music was the apex of musical art forms. In later years I still love my Classical and so many forms of Jazz. Broadway is still magical and reading is still my preferred form of relaxation. I have a TV(flat screen of course) but it is in my son's room for his gaming system. I have a smaller monitor to watch an occasional movie or news that may be worth watching(very very little these days...now if the Marmalade Mussolini has a STROKE) THAT WOULD BE NEWSWORTHY. With all the remodeling I have going on there is no time for "dating" and even if there was I wouldn't know where to start...i think I have turned into an old curmudgeon and that's just fine...i don't have to worry that I am compatible with someone else...i can just enjoy being "me" ... I think I just grew tired of trying to fit into someone else's painting...
My guess is you’re over thinking it.
You are absolutely correct, find your happiness before getting in a relationship.
That’s why I’ve been entirely alone since 2007.
Yes I went to lots of therapy.
I guess I’ll either die alone or find happiness and then look for someone, but I insist on taking my sweet time because it’s the only healthy way.
All five of the therapist I’ve seen tell me they agree.
It’s part of a traumatic life, it’s ok to have a sad life if you can keep your sense of humor and not hide behind it like Robin Williams did.
Keep people laughing, especially yourself, and have the courage to be vulnerable and honest.
Don’t worry about letting men down easy, they’re too clingy as is.
You don’t yank the wax off slowly, and your self absorbed boy friend needed a little character development.
he wants a sex slave.. Isn't it funny how middle eastern men are so preoccupied with sex.
That explains why Muslim men have four wives.
@LiterateHiker Ha, no thanks, it's hard enough to be with one in a equal relationship.
Growing up, the TV was never shut off (I was born in a house with the television always on- Talking Heads). To this day, my relationship with tv is little like/ hate. I mean, I see it's usefulness. I also see it's wastefulness. Even into adulthood, when I'd visit my parents, it was always on. It was always the focus, where we sat. And it was loud. They wouldn't even turn it down, let alone off, for company!
I didn't go very far into a relationship with a woman about 3 years ago. Her TV was always tuned to WCIU ( Judge Judy, Jerry Springer...that sorta shit). The U! I moved on quickly.
PBS.... yes!
I've had spells of no TV for long periods of time. And it's limited now what I watch...BS "news", the weather forecast, documentaries..... I've got a thing for murder mysteries ....woo hoo!
But it's never on for background or noise. (I am the slime on the video- Zappa) Either I watch it or it's off.
When it’s not a match it’s best to say so right away. I especially feel this way at my age. you did the right thing very succinctly and factually.
Thank you, dear.