When do you tell new SOs?

[IndieSolo]

. . . back when I was dating in my 20s, we didn't have internet dating sites (aging myself here!). You had to meet people in person without the benefit of viewing a profile or chatting over the internet first. People did meet random strangers in bars, at parks, museums, etc., and talk to them.

I've only done internet dating since late 2010, after having become separated from my husband. I hadn't dated in well over a decade. Back then, before I married, we had personal ads in the newspaper. No pictures, and like 3 lines of text. I remember one of my titles that hooked a lot of guys: "Brunette with brains." You sent a letter to a PO Box number, included your phone number so they could call you, and all your wooing was done over the phone. Later, the ads would have voicemails set up so you could hear their voices ahead of time. It was prehistoric!

As for meeting people in person, I've dated men I met at the laundromat, in the subway, on the street, in a bar or restaurant. I met my soon-to-be-ex-husband in a building lobby. I don't think it's weird at all for someone to be attracted and intrigued by someone they see, enough to be motivated to ask for a date. I wouldn't go out with just anyone who asks, but it's only a drink or a coffee, so... sure, if they don't seem like an axe murderer, why not? I never made assumptions that it would ever go past that, so I had a lot of fun dates. Back in my single days, I would also periodically put the word out to all my friends to fix me up with someone they knew. No relationships ever came out of those fix-ups, but again, I had lots of fun conversations and dinners!