Hi there, my name is Bob, I'm 3+ years widowed, & I'm thinking it's about time to start living again. This is an alternate pro-file, since the 1st attempt didn't seem to be producing acceptable results. After several months I find myself wasting entirely too much of my time mollycoddling ALLEGED women in text message exchanges that end with me STILL not knowing if they are even a woman or actually interested in me and not just hunting for their next mark to scam. Being polite has its place but I'm seriously trying to find that "special someone", so I'm implementing a new policy of behavior going forward, in order to facilitate that search. After initially exchanging greetings, I WILL NOT go any further UNTIL it is proven the person I am communicating with is a real, live, flesh & blood female looking for some of the same things I am. In order to ascertain a person is at least female, I am now insisting on an actual voice communication - either over a web cam or a telephone - before I spend any more time getting down to wants, hopes, & dreams. If you cannot fulfill that minimal task, then do not even bother contacting me to begin with - because I am now unyielding on that requirement going forward. YOU MUST be willing to TALK to me, not send endless texts. IF the telephone conversation is productive I am willing to travel almost anywhere to meet you in person, to better facilitate our impressions of each other. If you do not THEN find me to be an acceptable match, TELL ME, & with no hard feelings I will accept your honesty & remove myself so we can each get on about our business with no regrets. Now that this essential point has been driven home, if you are still interested in me, read on to learn more. I'm a plain, blue-collar, old guy (70+) with a LOT of interests - mainly intellectual at this point - which I've listed so far as the pre-set options allow. The one interest I couldn't auto-list was boating, which I absolutely love. I own a 22' I/O motorboat with a comfortable cuddy cabin (with a real coffeepot) that I just love spending weekends on the water in. It was my wife & my favorite pastime, slow fishing over the side while she read a book, being rocked to sleep by the waves at night, & putt-putting over to one of the restaurants on the 4 lakes here to have a meal. I love to laugh & will spend inordinate amounts of time trying to make you laugh too. I do smoke, so if that's a turn off, oh well... [shrug]. I don't drink much but do have an appreciation for German wines (over 100 bottles in the cellar - some as old as the early 2000s) & the occasional Virgin Mary or a dark/bock beer (Fin du Monde or Leinenkugel Dark Lager). I'm an Agnostic but don't mind folks who have a religion, so long as they aren't going around proselytizing it. I have 2 grown sons in their 40s who moved back in - the elder (48), who has a very good job, moved back in when my wife became ill & the younger (45) has decided to go back to school (paralegal) for a couple years so he's living with me too now. I'm not adverse to a woman who has older children (pre-teen+) but babies are beyond my bailiwick. I own my own house and am open to a woman companion moving in if we find ourselves compatible but selling & moving is probably not in the cards for a few years yet. (Unless somebody buys me out for an obscene $500k.) I do like visiting museums & riding on steam trains a lot & will drive/fly long distances to do so. Last year the elder son & I went to Colorado to ride 3 steam trains. Mostly I split my time reading and watching movies & TV shows on my computer & reading news of the world every day. Politically, I describe myself as a Socialist/Libertarian with liberal cultural values & fiscally conservative tendencies - but these days I'm not nearly as intense about any of it as I was as a younger man. What I DO seriously want is a generally open-minded woman to become friends with & do things with regularly. Beyond that I have no expectations. If intimacy develops, that good, if not, that's okay too. I don't consider myself to be an Adonis (anymore) but I was easy on the eyes when I was younger and still don't look like I've got 1 foot in the grave, albeit I could stand to lose about 20-30 lbs. More boat time & less computer time would help a great deal with that but widowhood has worked against me because I'm not normally the workout-warrior type. (I could be talked into going to the gym with a partner.) I understand beauty is more of a concern for a woman's self image but you'll find I have some non-traditional views of what is attractive - i.e. it's less Barbie from California & more Popeye's Olive Oyl. I'm just not drawn to the Hollyweird stereotypical blonde with a pert nose, preferring a more "Mediterranean affect", (Cher/Minnie Driver/Sophia Loren) which has been the world standard of beauty for millennia. I believe I can ALWAYS find something attractive about any woman - to me, women themselves are an art-form as worthy of viewing with adoration as any painting in a museum. I don't do texting. I have a "dumb"landline that only displays Caller ID and CANNOT RECEIVE ANY TEXT MESSAGES, so if we're going to talk & get to know one another it'll have to be vocally, not some funky text messaging. I REALLY do not like cell phones. PLEASE DO NOT ask me to download apps like Signal, Telegrift, or WazzApp because you suggest they are "easier to communicate with". I'm tech-literate on this PC - but I REALLY do not like & do not use, cell phones. Personally, I prefer to interact in-person & am good for picking up the tab on a first date with ZERO expectations. If you contact me here, I will always give you my telephone numero (stupid censor). Call me on my "dumb" landline - I'm ALWAYS willing to chat for however long you want. (six . zéro . huit) deux . deux . quatre - zéro . un . deux . trois. ALWAYS remember your own safety & security, dial *67 before calling me to block caller ID & prevent reverse look-ups that can reveal your address. (Just a common sense precaution you should ALWAYS use, not just for me.) (*67 will hide your numero.) What you decide to do with it is entirely up to you but I encourage you to be bold enough to take that 1st step toward finding a new companion - even if only to get a free boat ride. LOL