“Not the glittering weapon fights the fight, but rather the hero's heart.”

***A bit of recycling from BB times.  April 25, 2009***

A little bit of excitement today...

On my way into the flea market I heard some shouting to, 'Stop that guy'!!!

I then saw a big thug running towards me with a cash box in his hand. Women and children were running for cover...

I immediately kicked into hero mode. With cat-like speed and reflexes, I rushed the guy and tackled him pinning him to the hot pavement kneeling on his back and wrestling the cash box back from his vice like grip. He was begging for mercy. I had none to give...

I was able to return the hard earned money to the little old lady who was trying to make enough money for her dialysis treatments by selling the pot-holders knitted with her arthritic fingers.

I shall expect my tights and cape shortly...

Good Guys 1 - Bad Guys 0...

I am sure everyone has no problem believing these events as factual and true...

However, in reality... This is what happened...

I was on my way into the flea market, I did hear people shouting 'Stop Him!'

That is when I saw the skinny punk running toward me with the cash box in hand. (He must of been new... Trying to make a get away on a busy Saturday on foot with a cash box in his flailing hands. No TOO conspicuous.)
This guy probably would have been knocked over by a stiff breeze anyway...

Still with the cat-like speed and reflexes I threw my hands out to try to block him. Maybe it was the Hero look I have to me or maybe it was that I look like I could be a football player (little did he know that I can barely throw a football - I got the wind knocked out of me playing touch football in junior high...).
In any case, he tried to cut to the right to avoid me. At this point, he slipped and fell on the pavement and dropped the cash box. (Again his amateur-ness shown through as he did not have a good grip on the box and wasn't even holding it by the handle.) He was asking to be allowed to stand up, he promised not to run away (I assume because the pavement was hot).

At this point, four other bystanders grabbed him and held him on the ground until the police showed up on their very threatening golf cart... (At least their tires squealed a bit when they stopped...)

The 'perp' was cuffed and taken away to the flea market jail (he had to walk as there was no room in the golf cart) and the money was returned to the flea marketer... (Sorry no little old lady, I don't even know what the guy was selling)...

If it puts anyone's mind at ease... I do believe that I would have been very heroic if the other men had not jumped on him...

I think I could have taken the punk...

"Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind."

 Jerry Lee Lewis and his 13 year old wife...

So I posted the question to Facebook, 'what is an acceptable age difference when dating?'.

I received many very good answers to this query.

1) 'Make sure she is 18' / 'Not Jailbait'
2) +/- 10 years if you are over 21 is fine...

3) 1/2 my age plus 7.

Number one was one of my favorites and kind of a given...  (apparently Mr. Lewis didn't get that memo but you still gotta love "The Killer")

Reminds me of my time working at a theme park during college when they powers that be wanted to the techs to stand by the stage before the show. (Like people wanted to meet and talk to the guys who run around in the dark...)
What did we do?  Watched girls...  "13" was the code that we used to signify that we thought the female in question was not eighteen.  (If she was not 18, she might as well be 13.)

It also makes me think of a couple of friends from high school times in which the guy was a year older.  I think they were dating when they were both 17.  It then became, technically, illegal or 'wrong' for them to date once he turned 18.  Kind of an odd time for them.

Number two is okay at this point but would have been sketchy when I was 25 if I was pursuing the 15 year old.  As long as I referred to rule number one I would have been okay...

And number 3 (of course taking into account rule number one) seems okay.  Of course if I am still single when I am 60, I could be pursuing someone my current age...
Weird...
At that point I would probably switch to rule number two.

One friend asked how old the girl in question was?  ie: How much younger is the girl I am going for?

The answer to that is that there is not one really...  More of a situation where I am realizing that most of the women that I meet are either younger that me (fortunately satisfying rule number one but falling into the rule two or three range), or they are married and/or have kids.

Now if anyone knows me, or has actually dated me, they know the lighting fast speed in which I move when it comes to making a move and asking a girl out.  I tend to wait for a friendship to develop first which end up being my downfall because by that point I am in the dreaded 'friend zone'.  I like to avoid embarrassment or awkward situations and see if there is a chance at all prior to making that move.


That being said, most (of the few) girls I have dated were younger than me.  Typically only by a year or two.

One was a number two which made for some interesting conversations and/or film viewings...

This girl had not seen ANY of the Star Wars films...  I took the opportunity to watch them with her in chronological order.  It was kind of fun seeing the reaction of the the big family spoiler which I won't mention here in case any depraved individuals who read this have not been exposed to the saga...

I kind of like the idea of introducing someone younger than me to some of the, in my opinion, classics of cinema.

I guess I would be fine with being considered a Panther.  The mascot of my Alma mater is a panther so why not???