Just Take, by way of example, Date No. 10, which discovered me personally at a Rhode Island pub for an evening so brutally cold the authorities had advised us all to stay indoors february. James ended up being a ship builder, slight and blonde. We drank the espresso martinis he had argued and ordered about welfare; we chatted of dads. Later on we decamped to his apartment, a flimsy, spartan place that however held probably the most exquisite furniture, tables he’d inlaid with ash and birch and varnished till they gleamed. The warmth failed in the center of the evening, and now we clung to one another for heat as their dog, Bruce, A shepherd that is german and recurled at our legs. That I drank tea; he returned some time later with a Styrofoam cup from Dunkin’ Donuts and a dozen red roses he had bought at the gas station as it grew light, he asked me how I took my coffee and I said. It had been, he said, Valentine’s Day.

Increase that evening’s curiosities by 86, and you’ll start to grasp the potential of those soul-crushing apps. Because of Hinge and Bumble, I have dated German poets and Indian bankers, Australian contractors and Brazilian waiters. Continue reading In Praise of Online Dating Sites Yes, it could be demoralizing. It may expand your globe. →