Who Would Marry This Person?

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Drew Peterson, the four-times-married 54-year-old whose third wife turned up dead in a bathtub, and whose fourth wife disappeared and never turned up at all, claims he is newly engaged to a 23-year-old.

Why any woman would find this individual remotely attractive is beyond me, but experts have been weighing in with theories (some women have an unusual need for excitement, others just suffer from cripplingly low self-esteem).

Peterson himself has claimed that women frequently hand him their phone numbers.

In better news, a good friend told me yesterday that her brother, a nice and normal divorced man in his early 50s, is enjoying a serious relationship.

"Is the woman around his age?" I asked (I really didn't have to ask; I instinctively knew the answer).

"Yes," my friend answered. "They like to do a lot of the same things. He's happy. For the first time in a long time, he feels really good about the future."

On Meeting Men and Getting Married

At a party for my aunt's 74th birthday yesterday, I spoke to my cousin's wife, who told me that she and my cousin run a marriage preparation class for couples at their church.

She told me two interesting things:

1. That an average of three engaged couples per session met online.

2. That an average of three couples decide not to marry after taking the class.

"It's amazing how many couples meet online these days," she said. "Most of the people coming to our classes are marrying for the first time, and they're about 35 years old."

As for the couples who end up not getting married, she maintained, "That's a good thing. Better to know now than later."

My father agrees wholeheartedly. As we rolled up to the church for my wedding, he turned to me and said, "There's still time to change your mind, you know."

I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't. But I'm also glad I had a father who encouraged me to put my well-being ahead of the deposit on a reception hall.