On chivalry and compliments

Several months ago I met someone at a show who asked me out to coffee. CLH was out of town otherwise he would have been at the show with me and this would have never happened. Of course, I demurred politely, pointed to the ring on my finger. I was flattered but no thanks. The next day I found out the guy was married. I was horrified. Mostly because I thought the he was really very nice, even if I wasn’t interested.

What has happened to chivalry? I’ve read Dangerous Liasons (and seen almost every version of it on film): I know men (and women) have always played with each other’s hearts without regard for the consequences. I just wish more men were like my grandfather, who even when I was a child would open car doors for me.

Around the corner from my house is a small shoe shop run by a 40-something Hispanic man with the slightest hint of an accent. He is tall, has a minor belly and is better than average looking. I had CLH’s ripped leather motorcycle jacket repaired there following his wreck, and while I wait for my shoes to be re-capped I will fiddle with the hundreds of small samples of leather in all textures and colors that clutter the counter of the shop. Sometimes, while I wait, I think about having a pair of boots custom-made.

I like to think I am supporting a local business, a neighborhood business, and that is why I go there. But I also go there because of the man. He always calls me “M’lady.”