Worlds Longest Blind Date

		ROSIE’S COLUMN
		Am I nervous about a blind date?
		What will I wear to make a good first impression?
		What can I possibly wear for 15 days, with limited baggage allowance?

This is a girly-talk column to cover those questions my girl-friends keep asking me, and of course - I am asking myself! These are the secret worries every woman harbours, plus some, due to this unusually long exposure to someone not previously met. Reminds me of my many, many Pacific non-stop Qantas flights 12-14hrs, Sydney to Los Angeles/San Francisco (I lived in the USA 15yrs) rubbing shoulders with a stranger and suffering their bathroom frequencies. Only once did I enjoy the flight; he was a really nice gentleman (married), named Smith or Jones, worked in the wine industry, Barossa Valley, SA. I set the scene by suggesting we remove the arm-rest and accept the fact we would be leaning on each other most of the time, so agreed to a compatible plan for leaning/sleeping. It worked with no embarrassment.

I am sure David can be persuaded to explain some of his concerns, too, in his column? He seems to be the private, reserved type, so different to my frankness which I try to harness when the moment isn’t appropriate. I am surprised he agreed to our web-page, but very pleased at joint participation and enthusiasm. Add-on adventure.

I’ve asked myself, what would I want in a companion? After three marriages and some near-misses I really took stock of myself, my short-comings, and thought it best to stay single and not risk dating. I make my own decisions, even if they are bad ones. I don’t experience good verbal conversation, only one-sided stuff, for I live with 7yr old Annie the Yorkie. I do a lot of writing, which is also one-sided. A short coming!

Now to get into this blind date mood I am watching “Sleepless in Seattle” for the um-teenth time, the music playing is “Back in the saddle again”. The advice given by a male friend to widower Sam is that getting ‘out there again’ means, ‘necking a lot, then you get to use a condom, but the best part is splitting the bill’. I had such a scary near-miss ten years ago, I haven’t dated since. But I did devise this plan to be a pen-pal first, with someone ‘wordy’ like me, giving scope to a better foundation for friendship and exchange of values. This would avoid leaping into lust, disappointment and financial distress. When I searched RSVP-Australia for an aviation-type I deliberately chose far-distant places, to avoid a premature

meeting. I chose 2 in Melbourne with whom to e-chat, but one found few words and was suddenly visiting Sydney, so I got cold feet. The other was David, with whom the words have flowed, the platonic friendship based on mutual interests worked to such a level of success that we told of ex-spouses, ex-lovers (nothing intimate; no kiss-and-tell) and I believe we have a mutual trust, respect, appreciation of each other’s life-style, habits and personality traits. I found it strange how much caring and consideration can be developed in this way, and expressed with genuine fondness. We have never heard each other’s voices but we both enjoy public speaking so am counting on ‘easy on the ears’. I tend to talk too much but recognise when to button-up for awhile.

The big question is, will we hit it off well enough to cope with fifteen days of close proximity? I know our disciplined pilot backgrounds will produce compatibility in the air, respecting ‘crew resource management’ (CRM), that is, mutual input and opinion. It is most important and that pattern will overflow into our ground-time. I also believe that we have the dedication to work hard at this world’s longest blind date to make it enjoyable and the greatest success.

This adventure has opened my mind to sharing time, places and experiences with a male companion with those same dreams, and perhaps letting a little romance into my life may not be such a bad thing. The un-trekked places we will overfly, the wide horizons we will share each day, the remote airstrips we will use with wildlife claiming it as their domain, will be romantic and exclusive to our eyes and memory.

My flying experiences have not taken me to the remote areas as this flight will do. Accommodation will be Spartan most of the time, but I have survived sleeping in my helicopter, grounded by rain storms for 3 nights on the Bathurst, NSW aerodrome. My longest flight (by helicopter, Hughes 500, 5 seater jet), was crossing the USA from California to Florida, coast to coast, flying time 20 ½ hrs in 1969.

I do have the ability to pack ‘light’ and sparingly, choosing light-weight garments that will cope with dust, sweat, high temperatures. They are not what I would choose to wear to impress my blind date, under normal circumstances, but such a sacrifice must be a predilection of my fashion sense. Despite the hot weather anticipated, I will wear my red cowboy boots, which are comfortable, waterproof and very protective in the event of trekking out of wilderness country, and slushing through mud or dust. Plus I hate snakes and feel I can keep safe in my red boots. Weird, important decisions?

The hairdo has already been changed to easy, manageable, yet still feminine. Manicure will not sport coloured nail polish, for wear and tear reasons, pertaining to messing about with planes. I am hoping my carry-on baggage allowance can accommodate three changes of day clothes, for 8-10 days airborne. Dust, dirt, flies, heat, sweat, no air-con – all part of the adventure – placing additional stress on a blind date? Not to mention the variable – the weather, so hard to really predict correctly.

My mind keeps remembering the partnership of aviators Dick Rutan and Jeannie Yeager, who spent 12 days in close proximity during their record breaking, non-stop round the world flight. They started as good friends! But Jeannie seemed to disappear on landing back at Mojave, California. Another duo took almost a year to row the Pacific in 1971, John Fairfax and Sylvia Cox, but she leapt ashore in Australia and would not face the media. The stress of close proximity!

Does this cover your questions? Certainly expounds on some of my anxieties. Further comments will be informative, educational, enlightening and I hope entertaining.

Thanks for coming along on this world’s longest blind date.

47J2A

Now we are back, please read on for my Post Script.

		HOW WAS HE!
		This is a PS to Rosie’s Column!
		Were my secret expectations reached?
		What happens after 18 days of constant companionship?

Again I stress, that this web-page has been presented with total honesty, with an aim to help others through relationship challenges and inspire them to seek opportunities.

Up until September 20th 2007, Sir Winston Churchill’s quote, “Success is going from failure to failure with great enthusiasm” has been the culmination of my life’s story.

I became a recluse because of my own ‘apparent’ social failures … no one would have guessed this by my persona and continual run of accomplishments, including my first university degree at age 70, followed by university lecturing on five aviation subjects.
In my defence, I did start out at 18, marrying my first boyfriend, and chose to shut myself down at age 52.

Deep down I knew I could be a great partner, wife, lover but decided to keep it to myself for I felt there was just no suitable person out there for me.

How wrong I was? But quietly I made this plan (as written previously) that if there was to be a next time it would be ME who did the choosing, and I would base the decision on a long developed friendship with no diving into lust. I was in no hurry, for I had no feeling of success to my plan, nor did I want to ‘date’ and I was comfortable in my dog-house with a dog-companion.
I was amazed that David wanted to continue with our email chatter while dating numerous lady friends, but it was a real plus for me and while I was enjoying my intellectual stimulation, I pushed this query aside. However, I did develop a jealousy at times when given too much information, and this surprised me, for I had no claims on him whatsoever. I was a buddy, a non-sexual friend, almost like a sounding board. My feelings became deeper, more concerned about his upsets, ill health episodes, hurts and disappointments. All the time I was assessing why these feelings were coming to the top. But at no time did we express even a friendly kiss (x) at the end of an email.

This part of my plan was working, for he recognised the parameters I set for our relationship. I did not hesitate to accept his invitation for the cross Australia flight, for I was totally comfortable with our compatibility and deep down was equally comfortable with the possibility of a romantic episode happening along the way. But all this was kept secret from David and I kept things platonic for as long as possible, to consolidate the good friendship and trust we so enjoyed.

When I met David I felt I had known him for years, felt comfortable and safe in his company and found him to be shy, quietly spoken, well-mannered, polite but at times quite preoccupied with his thoughts and the rush of getting this flight off the ground. We joke now about how he forgot to feed me on those first two days, until I suggested we grab some pizza and I found there was a liquor store next door, so got some red wine. He is not romantic but when asked can produce lighted candles, so this is manageable.

He is not demonstrative but gets the message when I need a hug or a pat. Is not one to give compliments but shows appreciation. I am confident in myself to know when I look good, can buy myself any gift I desire so David’s strong points definitely outweigh any appearance of short comings. He is typical of a man living alone for some time, and needs a complete wardrobe make-over, but that is down the road a way, when he agrees.

We are compatible in every way presented so far, are calm under stress when flying conditions could well destroy the strongest of friendships, and he has remarked how he appreciates that I do not complain about delays and upsets to plans. I see this as part of my long-time aviation experience, knowing that impatience never pays. At no time has there been a hint of displeasure or slight argument, but as I said, he is the perfect gentleman so I guess I am getting away with a lot, and love it. I enjoy my princess status. We talk absolutely everything through, so communication is a strong point

My life has been frequently in the spot-light with media attention due to my colourful aviation career, and I knew, once the uniqueness of our flight became known that life could become hectic. David asks, ‘can we have an ordinary day’ but I assure him that his life will never be ordinary again. He just smiles and seems to be enjoying it all.
David is everything I ever wanted in a partner, but never dared to hope for. Each day is a new beginning bringing great joy, and a promise of better things ahead. It is quite remarkable to find myself in this position, dropping all my old necessities that I thought I could not live without, just to be in his company.

I find it amusing that I have three children older than some of his ex lady friends, and am ten years older than him. Age is truly a state of mind and when I state my age I always add, “that’s metric”. I call him my toy-boy but say he better not ever call me ‘mother’. My family and friends just love David, and my dog no longer looks at me with adoration … she looks at David.

Those eighteen days of constant companionship, joined at the hip so to speak, in confined quarters consolidated the friendship and it is very hard to be separated. The phone and emails are running hot.
What do you think? Have I found true love at my age?

“And our hands met and it was like magic!”

47J2A