Thanks for posting, Sandlewood4!

Before I get into this, I'd like you all to know that my signature line has been this for the last five years:

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

...and I live by that; I really do.

That having been said, everyone on this thread should be wondering by now why it is that saying "Hello" is
considered kind. After all, it doesn't feed us, house us, or help us propagate our DNA. Furthermore, if
we're not using the greeting as an introduction to a more useful conversation (such as to arrange for your house
to be painted, for example), then it's even less obvious why anyone would say "Hello" or "How are you?"

After all, the last thing someone wants to know when they ask, "How are you?" is how you are.

It's clear, then, that most of these trivial greetings must satisfy some social ritual. Eric Berne (author of
"Games People Play" tried to explain some of this in the 60's with something called Transactional Analysis.

These greetings are known as "Strokes". Babies require lots of "stroking" for proper development and it appears
that even as adults we "stroke" one another dozens of times a day. It tells us that we exist and that others
know it. A mentor once told me, "People like to hear their names." Now, I know why.

Mr. TallDarkAndIrish pointed out that at his gym, the males acknowledge his strokes, but that females do not. Berne
explains this by observing that people are picky about whom they can receive strokes from or give strokes to. In our society,
it isn't acceptable for a woman to exchange strokes with many types of men -- particularly men they don't know.
(Flaming gay men, on the other hand, are okay to stroke, it seems. Or hot guys. Not single engineers; sorry.)

Since compliments and greetings are essentially free, it seems reasonable to wonder why ANYONE would withold greeting
and complimenting everyone everywhere. We all know people who are more gracious than the average person and it seems
that they "didn't get the memo" to be stingy with niceness. Yet on the whole, we ration our compliments. Why?

Another researcher (Steiner) points out that there seems to be a "stroke economy". One web page suggests it is some
sort of parental control conspiracy. I don't know about that. But it does seem that where compliments are given
too freely, that they lose their value.

For hallway acknowledgements, it seems that I use it to say that "I recognize you to be an important member of our tribe."

And I suppose that's the kind thing to do, but it's also the proper tribal thing to do, so it's self-serving in a way.

But I'll never ask "How are you?" unless I want the question answered.

Have a great day! And thanks for letting me blabber.

Where I work everyone has ear plugs or muffs on so if I cannot say hi or hello, I'll give them a smile, wave my hand and smile or nod my head. Though I rarely say hi or hello - it's usually howdy or hey. Sometimes it's "Good Morning or Afternoon".

As to being on the road stopping to allow someone out of a drive or parking space, same thing. Wave my hand with a smile. Though most often I get the finger.

I greet anyone who is a reasonable distance from me when I am out (walking, working, exercising, or shopping). It's a nice thing to do, and I enjoy seeing people smile.

When I was returning to my apartment late (I walked everywhere in College, I'm not so good at this now) I made a point of greeting anyone close to me. It made me feel safer, because I knew that THEY knew that I had seen them and was alert to their presences.

down with the gender identity .........sure......but l'm talking about a not sincere person


a lovely smile to you sweet lady...........ciao ciao

if that person is honest and sincere l wish to you all the best and l'm sure it will be a good friend-ship relation

What is up with the post about the age differences?? I mean we r all adults ok. Do what you want date who you want......Its NO ONE elses life and really NO ONES business but your own. Stop worrying about what society thinks about it or the righteous down the street. Live your life. Just a voice of opinion.

I didn't write it and wasn't defensive about it. I just assumed the site had forgotten what I'd done here and started me fresh with post #1. When she claimed exception, it made me wonder the importance of whether it was post 131 or 132. And, I "never" wrote "post #1. That was their program that included it. I didn't see it until after I posted the message. Until then, it had either been underneath the screen or was added at the moment I posted the thread. That's what happened.

That's quite a topic change. I thought we were discussing how guys are apparently hitting on you (interested in more) but refuse to post pics, and whether they also avoid video chatting. That has nothing to do with fruit bowls, my pic, or me video chatting.

Video chatting came to my mind because I thought of how easy it is to fake a pic. If you really want to confirm someone's appearance, you got to see them in person or video chat.

Also, I've met a few rare people who simply don't have a digital camera, don't have a scanner; and don't know how to use their laptop cam to take pics...but they can video chat.

Cougar Hunters,

MILF divers,

Horney Dogs,

Whatever...

Who's leg do I got to hump to get a date?

How so? Everyone looks pretty different.

Though, that's how I feel about descriptions people give online when they don't want to share pictures. They all sound pretty similar.

Do they avoid video chatting, too?

I swear most these women been on here and have had the same pix for years, I wonder how many are still alive?....lol

well you know a lady on line, she is kindly raffinate.............but not sincere, at the first date you starting to feel something wrong on her............her voice.... some particulars are not so femminine, step by step the date in going on and you are not so sure that she is a woman, at last she open her legs ...............holy sky............she is more man than you..............

what would you do.....

Me either. As said before, if they're just here for the forums and chatting, it won't be a big deal. But as soon as they make it apparent they're interested in more, I make it clear that I don't meet people who won't post pictures.

On your own profile, clicking on your
city and/or state will bring up all
your locals :-)

LOL my momma never told me this but my friends did and according to them this is true. but the reason i dont want a dark girl is because i dont want my children to be dark i want them to be light skinned