Matchmaker Helps To Strike Up A Romance
Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch.”
- Fiddler on the Roof
Those were the days. A gal just waited for gnarled little Yente to find the man of her dreams. No uncomfortable bar scenes. No offensive pick-up lines.
It didn’t always work. Still, matchmakers have persevered through the centuries because some people just don’t want to leave love up to chance.
“I didn’t want to meet people in a bar. I tried the grocery store, churches, the beach. Guys at the beach want women in bikinis. I don’t wear a bikini,” says Cindy, a 40-year-old Coeur d’Alene divorcee. She won’t share her last name because she’s using a matchmaker.
The husband Cindy chose on her own drank and abused her. How could she be sure the next man she met by chance wouldn’t do the same? She decided to try a modern matchmaker who promised friendship, not love.
Dan Barrett is tall and handsome, no crumpled Yenta. He left engineering seven years ago for matchmaking. He has practiced his new vocation in Spokane for the past 18 months.
“It’s really a rush seeing your people get married,” he says, grinning like a boy with a new skateboard. He doesn’t know exactly how many of the people he’s introduced have wed, but he’s received plenty of wedding announcements from clients.
Dan, who just opened an office in Coeur d’Alene, relies on the old methods: interviews and intuition. He matches people by hobbies, interests, education. He checks backgrounds and rejects clients obviously looking for cheap thrills.
Cindy mulled over Dan’s four-digit fee - matchmaking is a rare skill, he says - and decided it was worth the money for someone to screen men before she met them.
So far, Cindy has met three men and she likes them all.
“They’re such nice guys, like brothers,” she says. “None have made passes. It’s very comfortable.”
Love may develop, or not. Cindy is in no hurry.
“At first I thought I was desperate because I went to a matchmaker,” she says. “But I want someone who will be my friend and who is compatible with me. How else do I find him?”
Too good to be true
The Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre has a knock-out lineup of shows this year. If you missed “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” tough luck. Bobbi Kotula, as the high-spirited Molly, spoiled audiences with her unbeatable talent.
But don’t despair. Bobbi’s in all the shows. Catch her and songbird Julie Powell in the “H.M.S. Pinafore,” which opens Thursday. Or wait for “Funny Girl” which opens Aug. 3, or “Show Boat,” which closes the season.
Need tickets? Call 769-7780 or 1-800-4CDA-TIX. On show night, don’t forget to thank your usher. They’re all volunteers.
Doctor’s orders
There couldn’t be a doctor more revered in Coeur d’Alene than Dr. Ted Fox. Over 56 years of doctoring, he’s delivered about 5,000 babies. At 86, he’s more nimble than many men half his age and twice as wise.
His recent advice to the Coeur d’Alene Rotary Club deserves a wider audience. Dr. Fox says laugh. Children do it all the time. Adults don’t.
He says laughter creates a natural narcotic that makes us feel good, helps digestion and sends more oxygen to all parts of the body. It’s also good exercise.
Dr. Fox, this one’s for you: Hahahaha …
Talkin’ Tees
When I was in Missoula recently, a man walked by in a T-shirt that said, “Citizen for a poodle-free Montana.” I’m a dog lover, but that one made me howl with laughter.
What have you seen on a T-shirt that made you gasp, laugh, choke, want the same shirt on you? Describe those blood-pressure raisers to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, 83814; fax to 765-7149; or call 765-7128.
, DataTimes