Strangely, my encounter with Devon* renewed my hope in mankind. You might not like what honesty brings you- but, honestly, you really wouldn’t have honesty any other way. I began to think that perhaps there was something in the online dating world which made [some] men more honest than they would ever be in real life. Either that or I am such a terrible dating prospect that men would rather claim HIV infection than continue on with me.

Though Devon and I stopped talking and he quickly faded from my dating landscape, there are still those moments when I look back with awe on my entire (albeit short) experience with him. Sometimes, I wonder if I dreamed the entire encounter. I mean, what was he looking for?  Was he hoping that there was some woman out there who would look past his HIV status and accept him based on his personality? 

Other times, I wonder whether he mixed his mainstream online dating with visiting sites catering to his demographic. But mostly, I just marvel at how brave he was to be so honest or just to be on an online dating site period.

Online dating is not something I would consider massively or even slightly popular in my neck of the woods.  I can’t even count on one hand the number of friends I know who are into the online dating scene.  And, from my experiences thus far, I can’t pretend those not in the lifestyle are missing anything truly spectacular. I can never hope to sit around with any of my friends discussing just how crazy this whole online dating thing can be or wondering what was up with last week's batch of “matches”.

That is not to say that my friends have never tried or are not currently in the online dating game.  We are all united in our pursuit of love. And, to be sure, I have friends who date online, but, they’ll probably never admit it. In fact, I just recently found out that a close-ish friend of mine dabbled in “OD”. She, I assume, just assumed that the rest of us didn’t do it and would think less of her for riding the “OD” train.  So, she’s never said a word until her recent slip.

Now, as bad as it definitely is to say this- my encounter with Devon not only renewed my hope that there were still honest men out there. It also made me feel better about being an online dater and boosted my hopes for my chances in the online dating game.  I mean, if he with his condition could have hope, then, who was I to despair? Of course, given my luck, I would sooner receive a wedding invitation from Devon and his blushing bride-to-be than have that meeting with the man of my dreams online- what with his great grandmother of a snail’s pace and all.

*Name has been changed.

Stayed tuned for Next Saturday's entry.