Mix and Match

Once again, it's time for our monthly foray into the minds of attractive single people. Time for me to sit them down, ask some questions, see what happens. This month was especially interesting: our test subjects, Morgan and Allan, are exactly the same age my husband and I were when we met. Coincidence? Add to that, Morgan is strawberry-blonde, funny and beautiful.just like me (well, two out of three ain't bad.) And Allan is tall with thick dark hair (my husband, Mark, is tall and used to have thick, dark hair-now it's just dark, except where the gray is. There it's just, well, gray.) Sitting in the booth at Wild Wings with them, it was hard not to reminisce about my own first date with Mark-so many similarities, except for the 40-year old chaperone about to grill them.

Meet the Mix
Morgan Kizer is Sales Coordinator for Pink Magazine. Ask anyone at Pink to describe her, and they'll say "adorable." She's 23 and a knock-out, but if she's aware of her beauty, you'd never know. She's as down-to-earth as they come, the quintessential girl next door. She's also smart, soft-spoken and slightly shy. Her parents must beam when they look at her. She's from Barnwell, SC, and her small-town roots are evident in her way of looking at life. She graduated from Winthrop University, with a degree in journalism, and starting her career working for the local paper, The People's Sentinel-where the hottest news oftentimes involved a rainbow spotting.

Meet the Match
Allan Haynes is a Wholesale Sales Rep for Sherwin-Williams Paint. He's 31 and a dead-ringer for the kid who played Eddie on "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (I'm really showing my age here). He's got a face full of freckles, and a smile that'll knock your socks off. Polite, adorable and very funny, he's definitely a keeper. He graduated from USC with what he calls "the most useless degree in the world-a Sociology degree" and a minor in Business. During college, he took a part-time job at Sherwin-Williams as a way to pay his bar tab. After college, his part-time job turned into a great full-time job, and he's been with the company over three years.

The Date
Now that you're emotionally invested in these two, let's move on to the interrogation part of the evening (always my favorite part of any first date):

This is where it gets GOOD!

If you could change jobs, what would you do?
M:    Work for Sports Illustrated
A:    Be a hunting guide, somewhere in Argentina

What was your favorite year of school?
M:    Senior year (both high school and college) were so much fun.
A:    Junior year (aka my fifth year in college)-I finally figured out the perfect recipe for college life:  just enough academics with the right amount of party life.

Do you fit the stereotype of a blonde, brunette or redhead?
M:    Strawberry blonde--kind of wild with a dingy streak.
A:    Strawberry brunette-kind of wild with a sultry streak.  (that got us laughing.)

What's the first car you owned?
M:    1990 Honda Accord, white with the most obnoxious shiny hubcaps!
A:    1985 Isuzu Tropper, my dad bought it, I had to pay half--$200. Get an idea how bad it was?

What celebrity would you like to be romantically connected to?
M:    The guy from "The Notebook"-he's smokin' hot.
A:    I watched an old Racquel Welch movie the other night-I'd go back in time for her.

What wild adventure would you like to go on?
M:    An Africa Safari to see giraffes.
A:    Hey-you took mine! Except I'd want to hunt them. (This drew raised eyebrows from both Morgan and me. He then clarified, "NOT GIRAFFES!")

What kind of party would you throw if you had an unlimited budget?
M:    One that would involve lots of bourbon.
A:    Biggest tacky Christmas sweater party-in July! (should have these parties together, since lots of bourbon is needed to stomach all those ugly Christmas sweaters).

Does size matter?
M:    Are we talking about ads? (always the sales rep.)
A:    Not to me!

If you got a tattoo, where and what would it be?
M:    Subtle one on my ankle
A:    David Lee Roth doing his split jump-right across my chest (ok-this freaked us out)

What's the most ridiculous fashion trend you ever followed?
M:    Stirrups with socks on top and a t-shirt knotted at the waist (Allan asked, "did it have puffy paint?") Oh, and don't forget the scrunchy!
A:    Parachute pants with a Panama Jack hat (eeewwww.)

What's your nickname?
M:    Morgo-Horgo, started by my uncle, why-I don't know.
A:    The Hanes Express, I won't elaborate-that's all you're getting.

What's your favorite beauty tip?
M:    For guys-don't wear black and navy blue together.
A:    Take a shower and shave the unibrow (let's hope this is for guys as well)

Would you go topless at the beach?
M:    Mmmmm.
A:    Sure, I'd love to show off my David Lee Roth tattoo!

What's the strangest date you've ever been on?
Both:    This one.

Time for me to exit, stage right. They were laughing and talking, and I was no longer needed (not that I ever was). I smiled at them and excused myself-but not without one last look.  They were so cute together, and I was reminded once again of my first date with my Mark. I resisted the urge to find a minister right then and there, but I won't deny I'm kinda hoping they'll be us in ten years.

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