I think Tansu has the best advice here. You know, you can always start conversations with the old conversational cliches; “Great day we’re having today, isn’t it?”, etc. They’re kind of like conversational shorthand for “I’d like to begin a dialogue with you in a friendly, non-threatening way, so I’m making what should be construed as a friendly overture and no more”. See what she does with it. Does she start blabbing away, or does she hightail it back into the house? Don’t be afraid to initiate conversations; one thing I’ve learned about humans in my vast experience of 35 years is that we are incredibly social; most people welcome the opportunity to start talking with someone about just about anything. Oh yeah, and ask her about herself if you really want to start a friendship; at 60 or 70, she should have LOTS of great stories and experiences.
(BTW, Danalan, I just got spanked for doing the same thing in another thread. They take the trolling stuff REAL serious around here. Please don’t take it personally.)
Danalan, you’re looking nice today. Accusations of trolling should be emailed to moderators. Snarky insinuations of trolling don’t have a place on the SDMB at all.
Better?
Shoot. Way to ruin my day.
I think the odds are incredibly small that this woman has a romantic interest in you, Zero. I know nothing of her, I’ve never seen her, but I’m just telling you - the odds are against you.
I like Tansu’s advice. Just be friendly, see how things go. It would be nice to make a new friend, eh? Odds are, that will be all she will be. But that’s a nice thing. She sounds like a nice lady.
I meant purely in a romantic/sexual way, not as people/friends. I’m sorry if I offended you.
Moderator’s Notes: All you guys got the snarkiness outta your systems now? Good. Let’s keep it that way. And for the record, Yue Han’s (and White Lightning’s) suggestion is indeed the preferred course should you expect someone of trollery. The point about keeping quiet is a good one, too.
God, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Ivana Trump would be turning in their graves at all this prejudice - if they were dead, and not in fact in the attractive prime of their life.
OK - so it’s a bit weird, the age gap. But frankly I think it’s great to see someone value the charm and attractiveness of someone who isn’t still wearing a starter-bra. I hope that when I’m 70, there’s some young guy who thinks I’m hot.
Um, istara, I hope I’m being whooshed here, but you just named four women who’ve had more plastic surgery trying to stay looking 30 than half of Hollywood combined. And really, no one is suggesting Mr. Zero look for HOT BARELY LEGAL TEENS!!!, (sorry, just cleaned out my spambox) but what’s wrong with looking for some a woman who’s say really 30 years old?
Sorry for the slight hijack, but why?
It almost seems to me that several people are suggesting that older people don’t “feel” physical attraction and that if they do, it is not to someone significantly younger than themselves.
Now I have to admit, I haven’t polled any people in this age range to find out what their attractions are, but I think it is somewhat dismissive to say she is not attracted to Zero.
I also agree that it is a stretch to say that just because she smiles at him on occassion that an attraction is there, but I’m not going to automatically discount the possibility just because of age.
To the OP, I would agree with several of the suggestions already submitted–strike up a conversation and see where it goes. A tactic that seems to work well independently of age.
My $.02.
I think that women in that age range have been taught very early the proper manners for
greeting a guy. From the description of her dress, this would seem the most likely cause for
her being nice. Sounds like she might have come from a rich family that taught proper manners.
If I wanted to talk with her I would just ask her about something she is wearing because she
puts so much work into that. ‘hi, thats a nice scarf, do you know where I can get one like it?’
BTW: I work with a lot of women in that age range & they are all very nice & smile alot at me.
Talk to her. You could turn out to be good friends. If she lives alone she may need the help of a strong young man some day. And you might need the wisdom of her years some day.
Carnal knowledge, I don’t think people are intending it as a value judgement; based on my vast experience of 35 years, I have virtually no interest in young men because they just don’t offer me what I want in a mate (and have found in my 33 yo fiancé). It’s not that there’s something wrong with young men, they just don’t have the same amount of life experiences as I do, they don’t come from the same time as me, and they’re probably not at the same point in their life (settling down, buying houses, etc.). Which is not intended as any blanket statement about any age group; just my own personal interpretation of where people might be coming from in this thread when they say a 70 yo probably wouldn’t be interested in a 26 yo. Just two completely different frames of reference.
How about putting it in a bit of perspective. Let’s assume the woman is 65. That means she was born in 1937. That means she was alive during World War II. She may even remember it. She’s old enough to remember the Korean War and she’s almost old enough to have had a child go off to the Vietnam War. With all those life experiences behind her, and additional ones such as that she might have already dealt with the death of her spouse, retirement, increased health problems, what could she find in a 26-year-old that she could relate to?
Not saying it can’t happen or shouldn’t, just that it’s unlikely to happen.
Not all crushes mean that one feels a real serious intention to either shag the crushee senseless or form a life partnership with him/her.
I reiterate: Crushes can turn into friendships.