Match Point
As someone who’s been married for almost 10 years, any insight I have on the Main Line singles scene is suspect at best. Nonetheless, I’m fairly comfortable offering the following: It’s vicious out there.
I base this assessment on a few things, one being an experience I had at a previous Main Line Today singles party—my first as the magazine’s editor. I’d been at the event all of 10 minutes when I made my way to the bar for a drink. As I was waiting to order, a rather incredulous woman to my left inquired, “What are you doing here?”
“Excuse me?” I responded with a nervous half-smile.
She pointed to my wedding ring.
“Well, I actually work for the magazine.”
“Oh, so you’re just here for the free booze,” she snipped, before stalking off.
But I have more than a woman scorned to go on. Until recently, three of my male friends were still flying solo well into their 40s—and with just a single divorce between them. One announced his engagement this summer. The other two … Well, they’d have you think it’s a lifestyle choice, but I wonder.
I recall being worried at age 28, thinking 30 was just around the corner and
permanent bachelorhood inevitable. A few months later, I met my future wife in a noisy bar on Headhouse Square. We were introduced that night through mutual friends, and our first date a few weeks later was an unmitigated disaster, with her storming off for some undisclosed—but wholly justified—reason. Needless to say, our next date was a vast improvement.
The 16 eligibles profiled in this year’s Main Line singles package aren’t exactly chomping at the bit to get married off. They have plenty going on in their lives to keep them busy until the right person comes along. But they’re also opportunists—confident enough in themselves to endure some rather embarrassing questions and a lengthy photo shoot at Media’s Hedgerow Theatre. They’ll be our guests of honor at Nov. 15’s Most Eligibles Party at the Radnor Hotel. And believe me, they’ve earned it.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: J.F. Pirro can flat-out deliver. This month, Main Line Today’s most prolific correspondent unearths the curious history of yet another obscure Main Line tradition, the Lower Merion Society for the Detection and Prosecution of Horse Thieves and the Recovery of Stolen Horses (talk about a mouthful). Never heard of them? Well, that’s about to change. Pirro also sat down for a lengthy interview with Villanova resident and former Sixers center Dikembe Mutombo, one of the greatest shot-blockers of all time, whose extensive humanitarian work in his native Congo makes him a hard man to track down—but a generous soul well worth knowing more about. We also hope you enjoy the first installment of our two-part holiday gift guide, with both practical and extravagant items for just about everyone in your life.
Enjoy your fall.
