Date men from United States / California / Agoura, 62 year old

Date a man from California, United States. It can take almost forever to find what really makes you happy. I lived outside the U.S. for most of 30 years. First in the Peace Corps after grad school and then as a freelance reporter--with some interruptions for "guest faculty" status somewhere or another. The opportunities have been amazing. There's always been "just one more assignment." It was always somewhere I'd wanted to explore--developed Asia, Australia or Western Europe. But it came at a price in my personal life. I have no exes, no kids, no entanglements. I never knew where I'd be tomorrow or the next day, going years without a premanent address. Well, my parents and only sister passed away in the last couple of years. That's when it hit me: there was a price for my choices. So I've started the greatest adventure of my life--readjusting to normal life. There is a LOT of catching up to do. I never had to do many "simple" things (who knew YOU'RE supposed to know when the county didn't send you the real estate tax bill?). Many complicated things have to be relearned. The most difficult can be American dating rituals. For me intimacy springs from friendship, good coversation and shared interests. It develops naturally with women offering a deightful mix of simplicity and sophistication. Women who were kind. I'm looking for someone without "baggage." Someone accomplished yet modest; outwardly reserved yet deeply passionate; expressive yet blessed with the gift of impeccable timing; innocent in her approach to life but lusty in her appreciation of it. A quiet, simple life with someone caring and compassionate was the life I was looking for all along. Now my challenge is to find someone who can make that life magical. I have a lot of catching up to do.My ideal mate would best described as uncomplicated, caring, understated, smart, involved, appealing, nuturing, assured. Someone who knows she can be better fortified by my strengths and willing to fortify me through sharing her strengths with me. There should be a number of common interests and a willingness to at least tolerate and explore other interests. Looks are not the most important thing (yeah, I'm a guy; I can't say I don't notice). What I really appreciate is someone who makes the most of what they have; someone who can maximize their strengths and won't fixate on their weaknesses. In life and in love, I take a special delight in discovering the obvious delights in someplace, something or someone that everyone else is too preoccupied to recognize. I'm looking for someone who, if life dealt them the worst possible hand, would treasure the opportunity to make me the one thing they would take along to that hypothetical deserted island forever. I'm looking for someone who, if life dealt me the worst possible hand, would be the only thing I needed to sustain me on that same hypothetical island.