My I.B.M. ????

I.B.M - Ideal Black Male

(**got an email correction from a friend:  ideal black man - ok, it means the same)

(learned that from a film about a black woman's resistance to dating, or even being seen in public, with a white man)

his version of what I should write:

met an absolutely fascinating and humble idiot of a man from my hometown of D.C., 15 blocks and 10 years away.  Although totally committed to his wife, he was equally committed to having a good time, and for this trip, a goodly portion of that good time with me.  Just my luck, however, that he also happened to be the only man from D.C. who cannot do the cha cha, and fool that I am, I spent several wonderful hours teaching him enough of the basics, all for his wife to enjoy.  Yes, he's an idiot but for at least these past few days he has been an idiot with me.


My version, naturally, better than his:

I met my IBM but unfortunately 10 years, 50 pounds, 1 wife and 2 children too late.

He is utterly charming, well-educated with a vocabulary guaranteed to please even the most demanding English teacher and/or linguist (fricatives anyone?? glottal stops??).  And, he is very easy to look at.

He challenged me to teach him a ballroom dance - how could I pass that up!  I decided on the waltz (slow and easy, I thought) and cha cha (necessary for every party).  He rightly said that the waltz music was funerial (read BORING!) but allowed me or pretended to allow me to convince him of the necessity of learning it.

Once he overcame his initial laziness and actually moved his feet in sets of 3's, he was quite good.  I closed my eyes and he waltzed me around G 32 for 5 minutes without hitting anything - forwards and backwards with turns.  The cha cha was easier for him and I fully expect him to be deluged with female attention once his pedial (D, it is a real word!) talents become known.

We talked a lot, laughed a lot more, he kept me up too late but never late enough.  I miss him already and hope that:

we keep in touch
he finds an appropriate (not married, breathes regularly) IBM for me
and
he will call me first if his wife runs away with the man who does her extensions.