Here I perch, between the horns of my latest dilemma: I’ve been using MFP for my minor dopamine hits, logging in & posting on a couple of groups (it’s always been counterproductive for me to log my meals, it seems to trigger reflexive snacking!)
Occasional friend requests pop up - I will generally approve them, because what the heck? (Several of my old SparkFriends have died, life is short, etc etc) My last half-a-dozen or so have all been from men, which I found a little unusual since my profile picture is my mule! Several have messaged me & when they found out I am married, I never hear from them again. Cool cool cool - I get that some of these dudes might be trolling for something more than a workout/nutritional buddy… seems like an odd tool to use instead of a dating app, but what do I know??
But this one guy started messaging me & has not stopped - he claims to be an Army guy stationed in Iraq. (Yes, Virginia, I also realize that some of these catfishers can make up elaborate backstories, but nothing he’s told me has sent up red flags (yet!)
Hubby butt-dialed my ex-husband last week, & in making some awkward small talk, he learned that Zach’s stepbrother Alex is completing basic training at Fort Moore in Georgia. The Army in reality may be the best possible placement for Alex: for Uncle Sam to direct every aspect of his life & help him figure things out. I found his new Facebook account & sent a friend request but he promptly blocked me. I told Robert (my new MFP friend) a few “highlights” (so to speak; even if it was more like a carousel, whirling round & round!) of the Alex saga. He claims to be a single dad of a 12 & 15-year-old after losing his wife to leukemia… I haven’t asked where these kids are - if he’s in Iraq, they must be with grandparents or other family in the States??
I realize as I type this, that should be my next question to see if his story remains consistent. Also need to check the time differential, since he’s been very prompt in replying to messages - there again, he could be an insomniac who sleeps with his phone (like Yours Truly!) Looks like a 9-hr difference (almost 11 AM here, almost 8 PM there)
So far no requests for money, just suggesting we move to WhatsApp or Google chat - I’m not too sure about that! Maybe Val’s normal suspicions are still functioning adequately…
In other news, my trail riding crew got together for a long-overdue pleasure ride yesterday. Tony rode Twoie while I piloted Baraq as our “scout”. We had perfect mild 65° weather, right before another cold front blew in last night - this morning it’s 34° with a stiff wind that makes it feel like 24°… Zach was going to bring one of his old college buddies out to ride today but I think they are opting out!
Addendum: yes, the kids opted out, I bundled up to go back down to the barn & let the ponies out. Baraq was shivering a little bit this morning, but I gave them all hay & he seems to be fine now (there’s a reason we called them “hay burners” - not only does good hay cost a pretty penny these days, the digestive process helps keep my little furballs warm) I won’t break out the horse blankets unless we have an ice storm or some such!
But for a little more feel-good news: yesterday was one of the biggest crowds I’ve seen at the trailhead outside of an organized event. I think everyone was anxious to get a ride before the bad weather blew in! But two little old ladies pulled in not long after we did - I would’ve judged them to be late 60’s - early 70’s? We were waiting around for a latecomer, so we watched as they brushed & saddled up to head out on their own trail ride… Caught a glimpse of them going up the fence line after we got through the first gate but we turned off into the woods to take a more challenging trail. We rode for about 2.5 hrs, covering 8.5 miles of trail - & as we were unsaddling, here came the little old ladies again. The older one of the pair was having a little bit of trouble dismounting, so I trotted over to help - she was short while her horse was tall & very round, but she worked things out by the time I got there. Her mare was an absolute angel, standing rock solid! Maybe I’ll buy me a horse that good one day 😉. It only took Baraq several months & about 350 trail miles before he learned to stand still & let me get my toe in the stirrup! I had despaired that I was going to need a valet for his entire career, but he can still spook at a scary-looking piece of deadwood! As long as I can still saddle my own horse, you’ll still see me out there…
Photo dump later…
Oh, my goodness! Spidey sense says "stay suspicious and check things out". Depending on the platform, I usually check to see if the "new friend request" has friends in common with me as a first step. If their profile is new, they hide their other friends, etc., it's an automatic "no" from me. If they do have a friend in common, I check with that friend, "where do you know X from?" You know the drill and probably follow it! Hope it's not a bot. Having lived with a son deployed 8 1/2 hours by time zone away we had a pattern of when it was good and we'd both be awake at one end of our day or another.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, and keep the antennae up!