{"id":109179,"date":"2026-02-24T18:47:05","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=109179"},"modified":"2026-02-24T18:47:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:47:05","slug":"the-old-coot-is-an-in-line-dater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2026\/02\/24\/the-old-coot-is-an-in-line-dater\/","title":{"rendered":"The Old Coot is an \u2018in-line\u2019 dater"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[By Merlin Lessler]<\/p>\n<p>We didn\u2019t have online dating when I was growing up; we had \u201cin-line\u201d dating, as in waiting in line to get the courage to walk over to a girl and ask her to dance or by getting \u201cin-line\u201d to cut in on a girl already dancing.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When impatience with our courage ran out, we tapped on her partner\u2019s shoulder, and even if he was going steady with her, etiquette required him to step aside and let you take over. The prettier the girl, the longer the line of guys wanting to cut in and have a chance to charm her, and by some Cupid miracle, ignite a girlfriend\/boyfriend relationship. We were so na\u00efve.<\/p>\n<p>I think the \u201ccut-in\u201d custom still exists, it\u2019s just not used as often as it once was. Online dating has taken over the landscape, with participants using a mix of fact, fiction, and exaggeration in their personal profiles. Blatant lies and doctored photos as well. None of the latter two items ever results in a second date.<\/p>\n<p>If my crowd (old coots) considered online dating and used honesty in our self-descriptions, our profiles would read something like this: old coot seeking a date &#8211; likes going places and doing things as long as he gets home before dark \u2013 only says, \u201c I used to,\u201d or \u201cI should have\u201d three times an hour \u2013 has many friends and acquaintances, only a few of whom aren\u2019t aware of that relationship &#8211; does good deeds but talks about them more than acts \u2013 is a great chef, as long as the microwave is working \u2013 looks at prices on the menu and picks the cheapest offering &#8211;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp; <\/span>believes Elvis is still alive \u2013 is a night owl, sometimes stays up as late as 10 p.m.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp; <\/span>\u2013 sleeps like a baby (up every three hours) &#8211; lives on the wild side, rides a two-wheeled bicycle without a helmet. Call this landline or mail a letter to this home address if interested.<\/p>\n<p>Replies? Send to <a href=\"mailto:mlessler7@gmail.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mlessler7@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[By Merlin Lessler] We didn\u2019t have online dating when I was growing up; we had \u201cin-line\u201d dating, as in waiting in line to get the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":82349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Old Coot is an \u2018in-line\u2019 dater - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2026\/02\/24\/the-old-coot-is-an-in-line-dater\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Old Coot is an \u2018in-line\u2019 dater - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[By Merlin Lessler] We didn\u2019t have online dating when I was growing up; 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