Because I like to write, and Mr. Carlton mentioned Wyatt...

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Dixie

So fast forward a couple months, and we're piddle-buttin' along in Wyatt's truck. Suddenly, without notice, and completely out of the blue, I hear the three words I don't expect. No, they're not, "hey babe, suck my..." That's five words. No, these words are braver, more soul bearing, and touching. They leave me stunned. In response I utter, "errr-ahhh-huhhh???" which turned out to be perfect. Wyatt changes the subject. Me? I want to throw open the truck door and jump, even though we're going 50 mph. That seems less threatening than unwrapping the years of barbwire wrapped around my heart.

So now I'm working on injecting some distance between myself and Mr. Wyatt. You see, I don't think I can survive having love fail again. I just feel sad that I unwittingly lead Wyatt to believe otherwise.

Well heck Dixie you're doing better than most. Especially me. I keep falling for women I can't have!

[GH85Carrera]

Dixie, I fished in the ocean of women until I was 37 before I found Mrs. Right. I had some multi year relationships with "miss not quite the one". I learned a lot about dating, but not much about true love.

Don't throw away a possible great man for fear of being hurt. My now wife and I dated for a year, before I proposed, and we were engaged for a year, before the big day. Living together after the proposal let us both know we could do it forever. 33 years later, we are still happy to be with each other.

So don't run away for him, but just unwrap maybe one layer of barbed wire on your heart and see where it goes. Make no major commitments for now, and maybe put a one year dating only time limit on things. A good man is hard to find I suspect. Most of us are married already!

[911 Rod]

Thanks for sharing Dixie.

[Paul_Heery]

Dixie, love can only happen if you let it. From your post, it's clear that you have not opened your heart to accept it. I totally understand that as your head keeps reminding you of the past.

The only thing that I can provide for you is, "When you know, you'll know" because your heart will drown out the reluctance coming from your brain.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

We had a customer that was far from flashy. Just a regular Joe, and he drove an old beat up pickup. He had some really nice photos from many national parks. He offered to buy me lunch if several other employees came along. He paid for lunch and we all thanked him and offered to pay our part.

He was a super friendly down to earth guy. Evidently he inherited a large oil fortune.

My aforementioned coworker John went raccoon hunting with his brother in AR, where he grew up One of his friends was named Sam, a super friendly older man that drove an older F150. They had a good hunt, had a beer afterwards, and then Sam said his goodbyes and drove away. After he left they told John that Sam was actually Sam Walton.

[Cajundaddy]

Fun story.
I have known a few "Wyatts" over the years. One was my great uncle, a union hod carrier in the 1920s who suddenly found himself out of work due to the great depression. He scraped, scrambled, and bartered for materials and built a small house for his new bride. He also frequented yard sales for clothing and would visit pawn shops when he knew their rent was due and traded cash for gold jewelry at pennyweight value. I still wear one of those rings that was pawned during the depression @ ten cents on the dollar.

When he passed away he owned several rental homes and 500 AC of land halfway between LA and Palm Springs. The house he built had a dozen hidey holes filled with gold jewelry he had acquired over the years as his personal savings account. He lived in the house he built and drove the same old Chevy truck for nearly all of his life. He never trusted banks.

Gentle suggestion: Find yourself a nice pair of wire cutters and get busy cutting away all of that barbed wire around your heart. Get some antiseptic and treat those wounds so you can open yourself to love again. These opportunities don't come along every day and this guy sounds very grounded and knows exactly who he is. Love can be magnificent, frustrating, glorious, infuriating, and rarely lasts forever. It's still worth taking that leap I think.
Cheers!

[Rikao4]

well your old enough to have your share of..
would have..
could have..
wanted too but..
and know..
that bad decision don't always s make good stories..
give yourself a chance..
certainly Wyatt...
as he sounds like your kind of man..

Rika

[LWJ]

Dixie, I forgot to add: you are allowed to be happy. You are worthy of it. You don't need to push it away.

Be well.