It’s time for some updates on my strange singles week. Let’s chat and enjoy an Arugula Greek Salad.

As you may recall, when we last connected I was riding the roller coaster world of dating – or not-dating — and had ended the week with a mixed message from one man and a rejection from the other.

Mr. A, a man I had spoken to by phone, ignored an email I sent after our first phone conversation. Then, several days later and against dating protocol, he called me on a Saturday night. I didn’t recognize the number and didn’t answer the call. Mr. A is the man whose real age, according to my sleuthing, is 5 years older than his profile indicates. Mr. B came into my life via a Facebook introduction from a mutual friend. However, he messaged me to say his life is too crazy busy to consider starting something.

Here are the updates and a new dilemma. I never returned Mr. A’s Saturday night call but he messaged me the next day to say he was in Florida visiting his daughter. So I decided to reply and we had a good conversation. Mr. A said we obviously had phone chemistry and should meet after he returned from Florida. He suggested dinner on Saturday night and I said o.k., even though I don’t always agree to dinner on a first meeting – especially on a Saturday. I agreed since he would be driving quite a distance. (Note to inquiring minds: he planned to stay overnight with his sister who lives nearby).

By Saturday morning, I still had not heard from Mr. A to confirm our plans. Since I wasn’t feeling well, I texted him to say I wasn’t sure our date was solid and that regardless I was not feeling up to going out. No response. So, another “fade away” as I like to call the matches who disappear without a trace.

Now for an update on Mr. B, the Facebook friend. I had written Mr. B off after he messaged me to say he was too busy to consider starting something. My reply was “As you wish” and a comment that this is my favorite quote from The Princess Bride. Unexpectedly, the next day, Mr. B wrote back to suggest we meet for coffee when things calm down in a week.   My only thought is that my reference to The Princess Bride must have captured his imagination because he included a photo from the movie in his text. Hope sprang (yes, it’s a real word) eternal!

Then, yesterday, over a week later, I see a Facebook photo update of Mr. B taken by a woman on what is obviously a hike in the woods. So, perhaps Mr. B is already seeing someone. And given my luck lately (yes, an obnoxious reminder of the dating dry spell another one has likely bitten the dust.

Before I leave my update on the strange singles week, a new match possibility emerged that presents a problem related to Mr. A’s age contradiction.

The problem guy, Mr. C, is on OkCupid, a site that seems to be increasingly attractive to romance scammers. Mr. C’s profile says he is single, which can mean never married, divorced, widowed, or separated. However, when I ran a security check on him, I found mention of a possible former or current wife but no reference to a divorce (divorce records are often online and included in an identity service’s report).

In a phone conversation, I asked Mr. C if he was never married, separated, widowed or divorced (trying to sound neutral). He started to say, “sep….and then switched to “divorced.” Freudian slip? True indication of his status?

When I sleuthed some more, I found another dating profile of his – on Plenty of Fish (POF) — with no picture and his marital status listed as separated.

I contemplated creating a fake identity on POF – just like the scammers – so I could email Mr. C to verify his status. (Yes, you can call me determined if nothing else.) I signed up using this new identity but have not taken the time to find and load a photo.

So, while I pondered whether I had gone overboard in my sleuthing, Mr. C and I had another good phone conversation. He asked if I was ready to meet. I said yes, despite my questions about his marital status. Why? I liked him and hoped my findings could be explained – e.g., old free profile he never took down. I planned to politely ask him about his marital status in person. My thought was that, if nothing else, it would be good copy for Dating, Sex, and Life in your 60s.

Side note about an interesting phenomenon: the writing of this blog compels me to pursue various situations as a learning experience for my readers and me. I plan to write more about this – how writing a blog can empower you — in a future post.

Back to the update: The last phone call I had with Mr. C, the possibly divorced guy, was Monday night while he was driving. (Pet peeve: does anyone NOT multitask when talking on the phone?)

Five days later, on Friday night at 10:00 p.m., Mr. C sent me a text to see if I could meet for coffee the next morning. He acknowledged the last minute aspect. Ha! Plus he spelled my name wrong. And the kicker? When I checked his profile, his photo was down. The profile was still visible but no photo. I texted him back to say my dance card was filled and asked about the photo. He said he didn’t like the photo and would be putting up a new one. When? After his divorce? A profile without a photo is always suspicious.

This was too much. I don’t think I can meet him – even for the sake of good copy.   If I add up the lack of divorce confirmation in the identify report, the extra POF profile, the Freudian slip when I asked him his marital status, and the disappearing photo on OkCupid, I am left with too many negatives.

These recent interactions have prompted a big question: what do you do when you find out information about a prospect that doesn’t match his profile?

Do you ask the guy about the discrepancy before you meet and risk looking “creepy,” particularly when the information you unearthed may not be accurate? Or do you ask him about it during your first coffee date? Or do you just “fade away” like so many men do?

Has anyone experienced this situation? What did you do?

All of these interactions also illustrate the epic lack of manners that is pervasive in the dating world. It’s too easy to be rude. You can hide behind text messages, false profiles, and geography. You’re not likely to run into someone you’ve met online so you can just fade away without embarrassing in-person run-ins. I would love to hear examples of rude dating behavior. Send a comment or tweet to #rudedates.

I’m hoping scientific research can uncover ways to engage in mass brainwashing to instill good manners.

Until next week, happy dating or not dating! XXXOOO Nadia