I tell everybody it was like meeting someone that I had known for all my entire life and I had just lost touch with him. That was kind of what it was like. It was like I knew: This is The One. – Sharon
What were your dating lives like before you joined?
Sharon: Non-existent.
Butch: I was a hermit for seven years. I played golf to occupy my time and it worked. I was married for 40 years and my wife died.
Sharon, did you have any opinions about matchmaking services before joining?
Sharon: I was leery; I was afraid to date anyway. I was married for 35 years and went through a traumatic divorce. After that happened, I just stayed involved with my church and taking care of my mom. Then I made the decision that I needed to change my life and get out of the pity party.
Did either of you have any opinions about online dating?
Sharon: That in particular I didn’t want to do. I was afraid to do that.
Butch: Me too.
What inspired you to sign up?
Sharon: I knew they were local. I knew that someone had interviewed these people; it wasn’t just a name and a face. I saw an ad somewhere.
Butch: I saw a sign on the side of the road.
How would you describe the interview process?
Sharon: I knew that if they were asking me these questions, they were also asking all the other people. I felt like it was a little more personal.
Butch: I saw the sign and thought, "What the heck? It’s time to make a change in my life. Maybe I’ll meet a nice lady like Sharon, why not?" I had breakfast with two other ladies and this one here rolled up and she smiled and I said that was it. She didn’t even get out of the car and I said that was it.
How does the matchmaking process work?
Sharon: They call the lady first and give her the information about the gentleman and she makes the decision as to whether it sounds okay. I had made a New Year’s resolution that I was going to step out of the box. I was not going to turn anybody down because even if they didn’t turn out to be someone special in my life, they might be a friend. Unless they were absolutely obnoxious on the phone when they called, I told myself I would step out and go ahead and meet them.
I met three gentlemen, none of which did absolutely anything for me. And then I met this man and that first date at the Pancake House we sat across from each other for 2 ½ hours. I tell everybody it was like meeting someone that I had known for all my entire life and I had just lost touch with him. That was kind of what it was like. It was like I knew: This is The One. It was kind of like getting reacquainted rather than just getting acquainted. It was comfortable.
He had a passion for life. He told me he didn’t smile a lot, didn’t laugh a lot, but I’m thinking, "Are you kidding me?!" When he smiles and laughs his eyes just light up and you can see this zest for life in his whole face. Of course, I’m that same way and it was like this guy has to be part of my life because he loves life like I do. He has this passion for golf, loves playing golf, and he likes making people laugh. I tell people that he was the piece of my puzzle that I was missing.
The summer before last I took a 1-day lesson to see if I liked it. I’m a retired physical education teacher but I’d never played golf. I thought, "this is fun, I’m going to have to learn this." So this last summer I took golf lessons and we played golf and had a ball.
Butch, what were some of your initial impressions of Sharon?
Butch: I tried to make her feel comfortable. I called her and asked if she would mind driving; that way, if she didn’t like me she could get in the car and drive off and it wouldn’t bother me. But she agreed to it. When she rolled up, I looked over and she was smiling and it just took my heart.
2 ½ hours later we were still talking. I asked for a date after and she said yes and that surprised me. Since then we’ve had a lot of fun together and enjoy being with each other. I wish I would have met her 40 years ago. It’s well worth the money I spent to find a good lady like this.
What do your friends think about the way the two of you met?
Butch: Everybody looks at me and says, “What is wrong with you?! You look happy!” I say, “I am. It's none of your business, I’m happy and that’s all that matters.”
Sharon: Only my really close friends know. They think it’s great and in fact, I’m trying to talk one of my friends into doing it.
What else do you two enjoy doing together?
Sharon: The church that I go to has a really big singles program ministry. They have dances two or three times a month. They have bowling parties and we’re frequently going to a lot of those. We go dancing and in fact, we went to a dance last night and we two-step around the gym and have a great time.
Butch: I have a Corvette and we belong to the Corvette club and do a lot of traveling with the Corvette club. If I’m not working, we’re going somewhere all the time. Day trips, sometimes the weekend, but we have fun doing it and there are maybe 30 or 40 cars going down the highway.
Sharon, do you two talk about the future together or have any plans?
Sharon: We did take a trip in October together. He was working for a while in Colorado so when that job finished I flew up there and met him and we traveled for a week around Colorado. Future plans, I’m not sure either one of us want to get married right now and so we have decided we really like what we have together and we’re going to stay together and have a committed relationship. Who knows what is going to happen down the road? We don’t know.
Do you have any advice for people who might be considering joining a service like ours?
Sharon: Be open. I was originally told that conversations on the phone should be kept to a minimum, but I found that it was helpful because I did have some conversations on the phone with a couple of people that I didn’t go out with because there were just some things that didn’t sit well with me. I think it’s good to have not an extended conversation, but you don’t want to waste their time either if you know that you’re not going to like them. Be open because you just don’t know.
Butch: It is well worth the cost of the service because I couldn’t have found this lady without them. It is important that when you do go out with a lady, I think the best way to do it is call and make a date and let her drive and meet you there. Don’t pick her up because then she may feel uncomfortable and wish she had driven. That is what I did.
Sharon: Give her an escape route.
Butch: That’s right. It’s a good deal for people like me that were scared to go out and find somebody. I didn’t want to go to a bar and find anybody. I wanted to find a nice lady that was attractive and had a smile on her like this one does. All I can say is thanks to Singles Station for putting me together with this lady.
Sharon: I want to thank them, too.
