I had no connections in Ohio. I really wanted to go to Cedar Point and ride the rollercoasters, but I had no one to go with. A friend had recommended asking radio stations for help, so I did an internet search and found a morning dj named Randy at 102.7 in Sandusky. I sent him an email and he responded right away. We taped an interview and he screened callers to find a good date for me. He even hooked me up with two free tickets to Cedar Point. I couldn't believe my luck!
The next day I got an email from Roseann. She'd heard me on the radio and gone to the website to read about the trip. She owns a salon and offered me a free haircut. I hadn't had a haircut since April! She also said her friends run a B & B I could stay at. I hadn't even gotten there yet and Ohio was my new favorite state!
I planned to meet Mr. Ohio at the park at 4PM. I sent him a text warning him that I was very casual and would be wearing a wrinkled t-shirt. I thought about adding "sweaty" to the description since the humidity was stifling but thought that might be a turn off. I said he'd better not show up looking good and make me look bad. He texted back that he'd return the tux to the rental place. Cute. I like playfulness. I said he'd probably pass out in a tux since it was so hot in Ohio. He responded with, "The weather is hotter and so are the guys. You probably won't want to leave." I'd heard that before. He warned me that he had a lip ring, and I let him know that wasn't an issue. If he showed up with his four children, though, that could be a problem. Another text from him reassured me that he'd just dropped off his six kids at the sitter's. This was gonna be fun.
Randy had sent me Mr. Ohio's name and number and said he was 22. I hoped he'd meant 32 but accidentally typed 22 . . . but as Mr. Ohio walked toward me, it was very apparent that no, I was indeed about to date the youngest guy I'd dated so far on this road trip. Let the awkwardness begin!!
But in the end, it was a really fun date. We rode every rollercoaster in the park except for the one that goes backwards, because going backwards makes me sick, and puking on your date probably makes him like you a whole lot less than not puking on him. We talked a lot while waiting in lines about past dating experiences and future plans. There were no awkward silences and we laughed a lot. He was a good kid. I wouldn't want to marry a guy 13 years younger than me, but he made one heck of a fun amusement park date.
We came up with a brilliant plan for a new reality TV show. After I'm done with the trip and the book's been published, I can revisit all fifty guys I dated, but this time play matchmaker instead of dater. Women can read the book and write me about the guy they liked best and I can pick the best reader for each guy. How fun would that be?
When we left the park, we both realized we'd been in such a hurry to be on time that neither of us remembered where we parked. We wandered around the parking lot for a while and found my car first. He climbed around my giant piles of junk and we drove around, looking for his car. When we finally found it, he said he had a present for me. I pulled an Ohio State t-shirt out of the gift bag and was touched at his thoughtfulness. What a sweet kid! We ended the night with a hug and I said I'd do my best to keep an eye out for a Megan Fox lookalike to set him up with. Now if I can find a TV producer to pitch the TV show idea to . . .