On Second Chances

Now for another exciting round of “Get to know The Four-Man Plan”…

The Two-Date Minimum

Why go out on a second date if you felt no sparks? If he dropped spaghetti down the front of his shirt, and you think he’s a total slob? If you have serious reservations about his gaming habits? If you’re three inches taller than him in flats? If you two had less engaging conversation than a couple of monks who’ve vowed silence?

I’ll give you a quote from Boy Blue: “You should try everything twice, because the first time you might be nervous or go to a crappy restaurant or have other things on your mind or…”

Cindy Lu, it seems, agrees: “To examine each specimen, you will need a control sample and a test sample. Therefore, The Plan requires a minimum of two dates per Plan Man, whether you like him or not.”

I think they’re right, you know. There’s always that ‘if’ factor the first time you do anything. It starts at birth (or before, who knows?) and never seems to stop.

We all fell flat on our faces about a zillion times before we mastered the art of sitting up, the art of walking. And who didn’t scrape knees and elbows umpteen thousand times when learning to ride a bike? And, hey, none of us were masters the first time we did The Do.

And if we’d all stopped after that first time of imperfection because it wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world? Because we weren’t instantly gratified?

Well, really, none of us would be here to enjoy sitting down to eat a scrumptious meal, or meandering down the sidewalk, or cycling through the city chuckling at the fools stuck in traffic. Or, yanno, Doin’ It. (‘Cause, hey, without The Do, none of us would even be here. Get it?)

So, anyway, the point of going on second dates with guys who didn’t achieve the most stellar ratings the first time ‘round is to give the whole endeavor a bit of balance. A chance to take off, if you will.

The 4MP allows no instant write-offs for lack of instant gratification.*

* It does, however, allow instant write-offs for guys who creep you out, as well as a few other things.