Sex and the Sixty Something Guy by Mr. X
He was in his 50s, a successful businessman, financially set, had settled down early. And now divorced after four decades of marriage, he was about to re-enter the world of dating.
He never could have imagined what awaited him.
From bars to bedrooms, anticipation to disillusionment and attraction to subtraction, he is now sharing his escapades in great detail under the pseudonym of Mr. X in the tell-all narrative, Sex and the Sixty Something Guy: Online Post to Bed Post.
The Dating World: A Candy Store or a Minefield?
Mr. X offers up the book as a somewhat cautionary tale to help men navigate the treacherous field of today’s dating environment and help women understand the male mindset and reasons things happen, at least from one man’s vantage point.
But more than that, Mr. X takes readers through more than 100 dates, eight relationships and 11 trips throughout the world with his significant other du jour. His experiences resemble everything from a candy store to a minefield.
Along the way, he and his companions would try to feel each other out on important to superficial topics like chemistry, politics, religion, social anxiety, appearances, careers, clothing, wealth, ease of discussion, intimacy, sexual compatibility, living situation, children and lots more.
“Either they’re too much like us or too far from what we are to be comprehensible,” writes X. “The sweet spot is someone who is enough like us to feel fun and compatible yet different enough to offer the excitement of challenge, change and growth.”
The Name Game
Mr. X’s means of finding women ranges from dating apps to matchmaker services to straight fix-ups. Each source provides stories onto themselves, and he is quick to learn what many users have known for a while – that lies, be they white or a deeper shade, run rampant when trying to size up an online profile.
His dates ran the gambit of occupations: small business owners, chefs, dancers, teachers, artists, executives, social workers, realtors, public defenders and journalists, to name a few.
The heart of the book takes readers through each partner, whether it lasted one date or went further. The list of women is reminiscent of the “Name Game,” song, with some names turning up more than once. Mr. X pulls no punches and tells it like it is, what he liked, what he didn’t like, why he continued, why he pulled the plug. He discovered many eccentricities he didn’t expect and at times probably had to stop and think of his own.
And it works both ways, as X learned, when some women with whom he would have liked to continue gave him the brushoff.
The author is very reflective of his experience, and knows that the dating scene and online dependability has built-in flaws. “We get an unrealistic view of women that ends up ruining our dating lives because we are never truly satisfied knowing there’s another option that may be even better.” This makes the process so overwhelming and all-consuming he likens it to eating fast food.
A Full Emotion Range — Much Like in Dating
For an informative read that can be both fun and disheartening at the same time, pick up a copy of Sex and the Sixty Something Guy. While the process of hitting the dating circuit can be exhilarating and adventuresome, it also can have its down side, depending on one’s objective.
“At the very least,” X writes, “you’ll probably have a delicious meal, even if the date was a total disaster. It can be dispiriting when your hopes are crushed, but if this book proves anything, it’s that your next date will be a completely different and unique experience.”
Mr. X is the pseudonym of a successful Manhattan businessman and entrepreneur.
