Who's Normal?

I got this in an email today:

A woman walks into the downtown welfare office, trailed by 15 kids...WOW, the social worker exclaims, are they ALL YOURS??? Yep they are all mine, the flustered momma sighs, having heard that question a thousand times before.. She says, Sit down Leroy. All the children rush to find seats. Well, says the social worker, then you must be here to sign up. I'll need all your children's names. This one's my oldest - he is Leroy. OK, and who's next? Well, this one he is Leroy, also. The social worker raises an eyebrow but continues. One by one, through the oldest four, all boys,all named Leroy. Then she is introduced to the eldest girl, named Leighroy! All right, says the caseworker. I'm seeing a pattern here. . .Are they ALL named Leroy? Their Momma replied, well, yes-it makes it easier. When it is time to get them out of bed and ready for school, I yell, 'Leroy!' An when it's time for dinner, I just yell 'Leroy' an they all comes a runnin.. An if I need to stop the kid who's running into the street, I just yell 'Leroy'and all of them stop. It's the smartest idea I ever had, namin them all Leroy. The social worker thinks this over for a bit, then wrinkles her forehead and says tentatively, But what if you want just ONE kid to come, and not the whole bunch? I call them by their last names.

Hahahahahahha... okay, it's not that funny. Single-parent families and bastard children are a problem in today's economy and urban society. -_- But still, ... hahahhahahhaha!

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Okay, so I've been thinking lately about the single life and the process of meeting people and getting to know them. I guess you can say I'm doing that, the dating thing. And as I meet all types of new people, I begin to realize that I really shouldn't expect a 'norm' in the people I meet.

We watch TV and we see people date all sorts of eccentric characters, but of course, it's TV and it's for entertainment purposes. For example, can you imagine meeting someone like Phoebe Buffay from Friends or Aleksandr Petrovsky from Sex and the City? But do these sorts of dates exist? We laugh at the strange dates people end up with on TV but is it still funny when it happens to you?

I think we've been deluded by the media that somehow all of us will eventually end up with a guy like Aidan Shaw from SATC or some other handsome and perfect protagonist from a romance comedy. Perhaps I should rephrase and say that I've been deluded and naive in thinking that the sorts of people on TV don't exist. I can't speak for everyone else.

Just when I thought nothing else could surprise me, out pops another adventure that awaits me around the corner. The truth is, whether it is TV, movies and even music, art is imitating life. Or is it the other way around?

So how do I get out of this? How do I get out of the frame of mind that what I once thought was 'abnormal' is probably 'normal' and I've only seen my 'normal' through a peep hole? I guess the obvious answer is to just meet as many people as possible and not set limits. I once thought I was open-minded, but I think my mind could be open just a bit more.

I think perhaps I should start articling my rendez-vous' and see what everyone thinks. It's hard to be open-minded when I don't know what's on everyone else's mind. I have so much to learn.