Chapter 12: Dating Older Men

My friend is an aficionado of the older men… they are like cigars according to her- aged and cured. I, on the other hand, tended to believe that they are dry, brittle and occasionally smell. But caught in a quandary where my age compatible brethren are dating 10 year younger, I needed to scout out the 10 year older age group. So I started raiding the online world for the aged but not decrepit.

To my surprise, I found many a bohemian soul in sane exterior amongst this age group. Here were men who had explored the material world to feed their body but now were looking for fodder to feed their soul. Some had demanding corporate jobs which they gave up to help small businesses. Some were actively engaged in charity organizations and others were exploring their aspiring playwright. And unlike my redbull-vodka imbibing age compatriots, they enjoyed a fine scotch and French wine and were willing to feed me. Indeed, far far removed from boys who flinched at even ordering cheese to accompany the wine, wanted to go ‘dutch’ and expected exchange of bodily fluid, French style right on the first date.

And truth be told, I was young and beautiful in these wisdom infused eyes… a veritable feast of youth and energy. Never mind that my joints have started aching in the cold and my left knee doth protest too much while climbing up the stairs.

These men had pictures of doing fun things other than drinking and posing with cleavage endowed friends. They are climbing rock walls, swimming in the deep blue, catching a fish, visiting Angkor Vat and many such exciting things. They profess they are looking for women who have a mind, can debate and argue with a passion, guffaw loudly at their jokes… basically be an independent entity with their own rights. So what was wrong with this picture?

While the maturity is admirable, the lack of hair in the right places brings pause. In fact, ever since I went out on a couple of dates with the more mature men, I have had a sudden fascination for hirsute men. I cannot keep my eyes off flowing locks, bearded faces, basically hair everywhere other than sprouting from the nose or ears or on the back. (I mean, I like a furry torso, but how grotesque is hair on the shoulders... unless you have a fascination for werewolves!!)

So are the mid-40s a hard sell.. or shall I say a soft shell? The mind and the soul are just where I want them to be, but where are the George Clooney look-a-likes? I am still left to wonder whether I should consider being the Porsche to their mid-life crisis or keep looking for the X-box obsessed to mature beyond the World of Warcraft?

But on a serious note, they do come with some baggage.. and sometimes this baggage is in the form of a 20 something child. The idea of being maternal to a 20 year old is anathema to me. Not to mention the divorce, the hours of therapy and an iron-clad pre-nup agreement carried in the coat pocket. And if they are single and unattached… guess what … their fear of commitment can put a 30 year old man to shame.

Well, Cosmo says that women are increasingly finding older men attractive and I guess age is after all, only a number. So my search for a George Clooney amongst the older but not diaper clad continues…