A Little Bro Jo

Dear Bro Jo,

You mention that you dated a lot, care to explain?

- Just Wondering


Dear Wondering,

Well first of all, this column is for and about the readers, not me, but fair is fair I suppose. It's not like I can blame you for being curious about my obvious charm and magnetism!

(no one will roll their eyes more at that last statement than my wife)

My first official "date" was my Sophomore year of High School. From then until I became engaged just a couple years later I dated somewhere between 50 and 60 different girls (it's too long ago for me to remember accurately), most of them more than once. One Christmas Break I went on 12 dates with 11 different girls (the one girl that wouldn't go out with me that break I eventually married - I'll let you draw your own conclusions).

There were lots of girls who I wanted to ask out but never did, usually either because my buddy liked them or because I was intimidated.

(truth? it may be that I dated a lot because I was lonely, because I was insecure, or because I got unloaded more than a Tonka truck in a public sand box)

And, to answer your unasked question: yes, I did keep a journal of whom I went out with when, where we went, and what we did on our date. None-the-less I did have a couple awkward moments seeing the same movie more than once (and not being surprised at the ending) and waitresses required a sizable tip to not spill the beans with a well placed "didn't you order that yesterday when you were here with that other girl?"

Other than my spouse I never "exclusively dated" anyone for more than 11 weeks. It took a lot of work to get my first date with the future Sister Johnston, and even more work to get the second date. We still go out often. She's absolutely worth the effort; then and now.

- Bro Jo