I love Pittsburgh. It’s so different than any other place I have lived, and I find it fascinating. Pittsburgh natives seem to really love their neighborhoods, and can be reluctant to venture out of them.

I met ZZUG for a beer on a Thursday night, and SOUTH HILLS for a beer on Friday. I liked SOUTH HILLS, but he was going to the Bahamas the next day for a week, and I ended up dating ZZUG instead.

When SOUTH HILLS came back we went out again, and I told him I had started seeing ZZUG. He was skeptical that it could work out – I lived in Mt. Lebanon and ZZUG lived in Cranberry. SOUTH HILLS had dated a women in Cranberry once and it had been too far to drive. He suggested I stick to the south hills of Pittsburgh, especially since I had a house full of teenagers.

“What are you going to do if things progress?” he asked. “He can’t stay at your place. And it’s too far to drive to his place, especially since you can’t stay the night. You’ll have to get a hotel room.”

The idea of getting a hotel room seemed kind of fun, but it never happened. It didn’t work out, but it was because of another woman not the distance – in fact the other woman lived 600 miles away.

Snce then I have encountered the Pittsburgh distance issue many times. Sometimes I’m a little thick about it, especially since I get emails from men in Ohio and West Virgina who tell me they have no problem crossing state lines to see me. Then I discover guys in Pittsburgh who won’t even cross a bridge.

One such man is HAMPTON. A nice guy from the North Hills. I have a seminar every other Monday night at the Holiday Inn off McKnight Rd., so every other week for the last 6 weeks we have met for a beer close to there before my seminar started. This is a very controlled “date” – we have about a hour and a half to talk before I need to get to class.

HAMPTON had told me many times that I was really out of his driving range – it was a rare woman who could entice him into the South Hills. I have a healthy ego, and thought I just might be rare enough. I decided to go out on a limb and suggested we meet on a Friday night for a “real” date. He asked if I would be willing to meet him in the north hills and I said I was.

The night before we were to meet my 17 year old daughter had some type of stomach bug, and I was up all night with her (about the only time a teenager still wants her mom close by is when she is vomiting or needs money).  I was tired and I had to cancel our date. When I called HAMPTON he said it was fine, he had never really considered me “girlfriend material” and we could keep meeting for our Monday night beer. I thanked him for understanding and hung up.

I took me about 30 seconds to call him back. “What do you mean, I am not girlfriend material?” My ego was obviously not all that healthy and I was a little piqued.HAMPTON gave his reasons, and they were (in order) :

  1. I lived in Mt. Lebanon, and that was really too far to drive
  2. I was seeing other guys and had made it clear to him that I was not ready to settle down

Well, I can’t fault him for #2 – but I still am a wee bit upset that he didn’t think I was worth the 25 minute ride. I may only have a half hour for a beer with him on Monday.

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