DATE 1: LIVE OR LET DIE; OUT WITH JAMES BOND

Okay, I admit it.. I borrowed the dress. Solitaire was the female lead in my date’s chosen movie and she was a tarot card reader. I looked at some pictures of Jane Seymour and hit my wardrobe. I went over the top at first: sparkly scarf on my head, layers of chunky necklaces, big funky earrings. I was texting my friend Ruby pictures of possible outfits and finally she said, “You look like a girl going to a costume party as a fortuneteller. I will dress you. Come over!” So I did, and she dressed me, gave me some extra jewelry, and of course “The Pep Talk.” It’s a little nerve-wracking going out on my first date, even if it happened to be with someone I knew from a long time ago. Ruby was as giddy about my date as I was, after all, who doesn’t want to go out with James Bond?

Being the first of my 50 First Dates, I was glad to have the comfort of being taken out by someone I had some history with… yes, we kissed in high school, yes, we’ve run into each other in various states through similar paths through the years, and yes, now he’s settled in Florida. But this is getting real!!! I mean look at me, I have put it out there to the world that I am going on 50 first dates! You know when you have that feeling in your stomach and you’re not sure if it’s butterflies or bats? That’s me right now.

So, here’s how it went down… Bond picked me up (as I said, I knew him, so it was okay for me to be picked up) and as soon as he stepped out of his car, I knew he was into it. He had on the cool shades, the black button down shirt (on a 90+ degree day) and the fancy shoes… very MI6!

Live or Let Die has a speedboat chase in the swamps of New Orleans, so Bond arranged for us to take an airboat ride in the Everglades.  This was definitely a new experience for me. We saw a few alligators and a giant snapping turtle, and when I say “saw,” I mean they surfaced right next to the boat, right next to ME!  You know when you watch The Bachelor and they go on those dangerous dates, yet you know nothing’s going to happen because they’re on TV? Well, these boats are shallow, people… that gator head was close to my arm, and suddenly, I had the feeling that I might be on TV too… the evening news! You can insert your own breaking news headline. I had to be brave though, for James’ sake… after all he was sweating to death in his black shirt under the midday Florida sun, “All for the cause,” he said.  Luckily, I still have all my body parts, he didn’t succumb to heat stroke, and I managed to get out of the boat only twisting my ankle once. Heels in an airboat? “All for the cause.”

When our ride was over, Bond tipped the Captain from his fancy Bond-like money clip, (he mentioned he’d brought gadgets, so I kept an eye out for them) and we made our way back to his car.  I noticed it was already on with the air conditioner blowing. 007 has a car that he can turn on before getting in… Cool!

His next plan was to take me to get my tarot cards read. He asked if I’d ever had them read… I had. After sharing my tarot card experiences with him, he decided it was better to skip the cards. I’m sure you want to know all about my tarot card experiences, so let’s just leave it at: listening to tarot card readers has led me to making some bad choices in my life. He adapted his plan quickly. His next move; time to do what Bond does best… casinos!

We arrived at the Hard Rock Casino and when we got to the elevator, two random guys with a cooler were waiting. When the door opened, the cooler flipped over and ice, beer, and liquor bottles were all over the floor. Bond was about to help, when he whispered to me, “Diversionary tactic.” We left the two potential bad guys to clean up their own mess and took a different elevator.  But not before I stopped to snap a picture for my readers. I loved that he was having fun with this!  Immediately, Bond hit the Wheel of Fortune machine and by the time he was done, he broke even.  I was glad. I certainly didn’t want him to lose all his money on our date.

Next we hit the bar… he wouldn’t be James Bond without a martini. I, of course, wanted to join him, so he had the bartender make me a Dirty Virgin Martini (that’s the non-alcoholic version I invented).

It was fun catching up. We talked about music. He wanted to know my favorite bands by decade. I think I threw him when I told him my favorite band from childhood was The Monkees. He was not surprised at all that my next two favs were Sean Cassidy and Andy Gibb. He said he thought their posters were what Farrah Fawcett posters were to guys, back then. Good analogy Mr. Bond.

Then we talked classic rock, 80’s hairbands, and of course he wanted to know how I went from Metallica and Bon Jovi to my new love… Country. I explained my seamless transition over a Cajun Shrimp salad…the meal, paying tribute to the Cajun cooking of New Orleans. He really did put thought behind every detail of the date!

I have to say, this date went beyond my expectations! We had so much fun. And as we walked back to his car he said, “What a magical little day off from life.” Awwwww! Of course then I had to stop and write down his quote for the blog. When I shared this with two girlfriends, one said, “Way to be in the moment, Jess.” The other chimed in, “Yeah, the poor guy is being completely romantic and you break the mood by whipping out your iPhone notepad.” I laughed through the guilt… lesson learned.

While the idea of a rekindled relationship from the past is always a romantic scenario, I don’t think romance is “in the cards” for us. Now a rekindled friendship, that’s another story. Bond is definitely a keeper for some lucky woman. Something tells me I’m about to make a lot of new single girl friends who are looking for their own Leading Man…