Middle-Aged
by Bob — Age 56 — Atlanta, GA
Thomas Friedman in The World is Flat says that if you are in the service industry, you have been globalized. Your job can be done from anywhere ““- even if it’s filling orders at McDonalds, or even if you’re a hooker. Here’s how that works ““- escort services have been around for a long time as a dodge against getting busted for prostitution. The Internet has made this an easier and better dodge. In the old days, the pimps would advertise in alternative newspapers and try to do some screening. They’d set up the “date,” and give the girl a call. In today’s flat world the pimps are pretty much out of business. The girls all have websites and do their own booking and screening. Now here’s the really wild part. The johns have websites where they review the girls! You have to learn a whole new vocabulary, but happily, the websites provide a glossary of terms! The first new term you learn is that these guys are not johns, they are “hobbyists.” Their hobby just happens to be paying women for sex.
So I spent some time cruising a few websites. My line of reasoning was something like this — I dated my last girlfriend for three and a half months before she dumped me. I dropped a bundle on her, and she let me, even though she made a lot more money than I did. We’re talking about theatre tickets at $40 to $80 dollars a pop, and dinners in nice restaurants at $100 to $150. I didn’t think about it at the time, but looking back on it, I spent at least $100 a week on her. We went out for about 15 weeks, so that’s around $1,500. Now the going rate for escorts is about $300. So I could get laid by a young, reasonably attractive woman once every three weeks (with no strings attached and no emotional commitments) for what it cost me to date a 50-year-old attorney and get my teeth kicked in.
Don’t worry. I’m not going to become a hobbyist. It was cathartic thinking about it, but there are many good reasons for avoiding this hobby. First of all, they’re hookers for God’s sake! Secondly, I’m not ready to give up on true love, no matter what anyone thinks or how old I get — hope springs eternal.
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