People get that surprised look on their face, “Craig’s List, weren’t you scared?” No, but cautious yes. You don’t jump into it – you assess, size up and try to determine if this person’s a good fit.

You can learn a lot about someone from an e-mail or from speaking on the phone, and even more after meeting them. Response time to a text or e-mail tells you how responsible they are; grammar, punctuation & speech tells you about their education, manners and so forth.

When I first met Patti, her boyfriend brought her to my home, and he stayed in the car. I was processing quickly: Boyfriend? Will he be hanging around? Am I asking for trouble? She’s a pretty blond – and though unsure of her age – she’s tall with green eyes and in really great shape?

I showed her the house – her bedroom, her bathroom, the view of the greenbelt, the patio and I know she liked what she saw. We spoke for maybe half an hour, she signed a contract and gave me a check. In the end, you go with your gut.

Her boyfriend helped her move in the following week, and, he was already an ex. I learned that her first husband was a Commander in the U.S. Navy. They were college sweethearts, and even back then, she knew he was cheating on her but thought he might change. I say first husband because even though they were married for 18 years, she remarried several times after that … six more to be exact … plus four engagements.

I told her she was in love with love – but Patti’s more serious; she’s on a quest. She’s looking for a guy who’ll be into her; a guy who doesn’t lie or cheat, and will be a devoted husband. Sound like a tall order? Maybe. Patti is 63 and a lot of older guys including widowers, go on dating sites. Then it’s like a kid in the candy store. Suddenly, men pushing 70 believe they are newly endowed with irresistible charm and want to date bevies of women in their 30’s & 40’s. Go figure.

Speaking of dating sites, Patti is bold and brave with Match.com, the only site she navigates.

People ask all the time with a sly grin, mainly guys, but ladies too, “Roommate with benefits?” My reply, “Absolutely!  She cooks, cleans and does laundry.” (I’m the grill master) She always said she is very nurturing. There were playful flirtations at first, but we both in our own ways, set boundaries. When she wants her way, she can be as subtle as a steam roller. I set up a perimeter. Then too, I found myself kissing her every now and then and one day she said, “New rules: No more kissing me on the cheek.” She also set boundaries.

She loves to play Scrabble. I usually beat her, but not all the time. Sometimes she’ll look at a word that I made like, “MORON” and starts laughing and says, “You are a moron!” Then I start laughing. When I make a really good word and score big points, I’ll ask her if she liked that one, and she’ll flip me off.

Patti was a Special Ed. teacher for 16 years and taught children in Guam for two years while they were stationed there. They chose to adopt and both her son and her daughter are Korean.

She’s as honest as the day is long – about her life, loves, misfortunes; pretty much everything. On bad hair days, she pokes fun at herself.

With money, she’s very fair and spends it as fast as it comes in. If this gal had money, believe me, she could do some serious damage. She loves shopping for shoes and handbags and nail glue and dresses. She’s a very girlie woman, which reminds me, one of her cousins, Meredith MacRae, played Billie Jo on the hit TV sitcom, Petticoat Junction. Patti’s uncle was Gordon MacRae, the singer and 50s movie idol.

I got lucky, she’s a good cook and loves to bake cookies and brownies and pineapple upside down cake. But … she won’t let me do dishes anymore. She prefers I not be in the kitchen. She says I’m like a bull in the china shop because a lot of her red dishes are chipped. Maybe so. I think she has OCD – bigtime – especially in the kitchen … and it was getting really bad in the car. Holy Crap!

So one day in the car, I said, “Okay, new rules” No more advice on what routes you would take, or when to change lanes, or my speed or anything to do with driving. She tried real hard, but on that first day as we were getting closer to home, she looked over her left shoulder a full mile before the turn to see if the lane was open, I said, “Ah, ah, ah, new rules.” Then like a naughty school kid about to say a bad word, she covers her mouth. Yea real funny P. cakes.

With roommates, it’s hard in the beginning because you’re learning about their habits, moods, their space, – you make adjustments – but you do reach a point when things get comfortable.

At the end of the day, she’s an old fashioned gal at heart, from Nebraska – born and bred – with uncompromising values … an excellent attitude … and recent good luck at finding Mr. Right.

Others have told me that Patti is a quality person. True, and she’s a caring and generous soul. With all the horror stories out there about Craig’s List, I’m going to count my blessings.