I saw this ad in the classifieds section of my local newspaper.
“Marriage-minded SWM, 66, 5’7”, 170 lbs. No family. Non-smoker, non-drinker. Home and business owner. Seeking SWF 18 to 35 only. Must be honest and trustworthy. Non -smoker preferred. Please send $1 and reply to (drawer number omitted for obvious reasons) Belleville News-Democrat."
So not only does he want to find some hot young honey to marry up with, he wants a dollar from all those interested. Sounds like quite a catch.
I’ll bet that he wants a lot of kids. Like the world needs more people like him.
"Hello, this is Marriage-minded SWM, a.k.a. ‘Happy Dude.’ The court has ordered me to call every person in town to apologize for my personal ad scam. I’m sorry. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, send one dollar to ‘Sorry Dude,’ c/o the Belleville News-Democrat. You have the power.
You mean like all the other people in the world that want kids? The hell with them too. :rolleyes:
I’d say that at his age, the best prospects for finding a life partner aged 18-35 would involve muscle relaxants and a soundproof dungeon under the house.
I have to admit, the “send $1.00” part mystifies me.
Is it to weed out the gold diggers? Maybe he feels only someone serious would bother to send him money?
The $1 part is the only part that seems truly weird to me. That doesn’t make any sense at all…unless the newspaper charges a dollar for every reply to the ads?
As for the weird age gap thing, well, I’ve done the internet personals thing. I routinely receive replies from men who are at least 20+ years older than I am (including one memorable case where the guy had a daughter who was about my age!), so it doesn’t surprise me one bit that he’s hoping to find some young woman who is desperate to get married (perhaps the “home and business owner” part is meant to imply he has a lot of money?).
You’re close, there, I think.
It seems a bit whiffy of “con-man” to me.
All the information is calculated to attract greedy, easy-to-manipulate people.
“No family.” Who is this supposed to attract? Together with “Home and business owner,” it’s calculated to lure someone who’s willing to make sacrifices to secure an inheritance a few years down the road. “Must be honest and trustworthy.” Bull! The gent wants someone who thinks he’s a lamb to be fleeced.
After that it’s a laundry-list of things she’ll have to do to prove her trustworthiness (with an eye on that vapourous enheritance) and the sponger becomes the spongee.
Very old and dependable con, that.
Maybe it just needs some creative editing:
“One eligible man, high mileage but low maintenance, perfect for a starter marriage, price reduced for quick sale, no reasonable offers refused, call for inquiries”
To me, it was the “send $1 with reply” that was the real kicker. I have to wonder how many people will actually reply. Maybe I have too much faith in the average person.
Part of me says this fellow is running a scam, but another part says he’s completely serious. I’m half-tempted to reply, but it’s not worth the dollar.
Why don’t you reply, without the dollar, asking why he wants the dollar, and see if you get a response?
Hmmmm…you know, I think I will. My curiosity has been piqued. It’ll be interesting to see what reply I get, if any.
I’d be willing to shell out a buck just to see what kind of response I’d get.
However, I’m irresponsible with money like that.
Hell, 4 years ago that could have been my ad! 
At last…my Prince has arrived!
Drat it–I don’t have a dollar. Damn. :mad:
You gotta hand it to him–the guy has nerve.
Send me a buck we’ll get together for a…
lovely chat over dinner.