Date men and women from United States / Arkansas / Garfield, 73 year old

Date someone special from Garfield, United States. Where to start??
When asked my friends have described me as easy going, positive, optimistic, generally conservative, very loyal, very reliable and, above all else, thankful for how lucky I’ve been over the years.
I'm extremely fortunate to be traveling the road I’m on. I’m reminded of this every morning by the absolutely beautiful lake view I enjoy on the way to the coffee maker. I consider myself outgoing but, since moving to Arkansas I’ve spent a lot more time on home and yards than really getting out and socializing.
I also consider myself extremely lucky to have made it to 72 without injuries or anything worse than an occasional head cold. Compared to what I’ve seen at annual reunions and among my “peers” I’m in excellent shape. I enjoy doing my own heavy landscaping projects and, routinely work with 80 lb. Sackrete. : )
I’m a fourth generation Texan who grew up in Little Rock and after a three years in "The 82ND" (an army parachute division) returned to Texas. There, two close army buddies and I began careers in law enforcement by joining the Dallas Police Department. I moved on to be a State Trooper and, with breaks for graduate studies, managing a police department and a few years university level teaching, retired as a State Investigator. Since "retiring" I've been part of police training missions in Baghdad '05-'06, Jordan '07 and Lebanon '09-'10. I'm trying to finally accept really being retired...not so easy after very interesting training missions.
I enjoy a variety of music and while my taste are fairly eclectic my iPod and Playlist add-ons are easy listening, oldies, folk…well, anything except rap, heavy metal, etc. I especially enjoy listening to music on the back deck with morning coffee or a glass of wine in the evening. When I’m not too busy with yard work a couple of the neighbors usually come over for “happy hour”. Eureka Springs is 8 miles east
I’ve been divorced since the 80’s and know enough about managing house and meals to survive pretty well. I have a great son, daughter-in-law and new grandson in Texas. I enjoy camping and usually get out with the old army buddies every year or two. One of our group inherited a cliff lined canyon in N.M. where we still enjoy basic climbing, rope work and rappelling. We always have a great time and don’t let set-backs like rainy weather get in the way. That's when we substitute side trips to Taos, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and Pegosa Springs. The photo at “Royal Gorge” was taken during one of our side trips.
My limited overseas travel has been for education (graduate studies in England, Scotland and Wales) or work (Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon)
I appreciate women who take pride in themselves and their appearance whether casual in jeans or dressed-up. Taking this one step further, I’ve learned that high-maintenance isn’t as attractive as a person being down to earth and comfortable with themselves. I miss the company of a good woman, the kind of feelings that come from little things like opening, doors for her, neck rubs, slow dancing, a good movie, sitting by an open fire, star gazing, well, you get the idea. I appreciate directness and have learned conversations (and relationships) can go much, much better when people really listen and can “agree that it’s OK to disagree”.
My food preferences are almost anything except boiled okra. I hope that prompted a grin. I enjoy good “Tex-Mex”. In Austin my favorite restaurants were Romano’s Macaroni Grill, The County Line (Bar-B-Q) and P.J. Chang’s. Since moving to the Ozarks I don't have any preferences
Now that I've finally retired I'm looking forward to a long-range monogamous relationship that could lead to marriage. If you think we may be a good match and don't mind a "You've Got Mail" kind of correspondence for a beginning, take the next step
Note: Please include photos. I think that's reasonable enough since you've seen plenty of mine. ABSOLUTELY NO SMOKERS!!!
Interested in a Texan?