I have noted before the sometimes painful, curious, and interesting ads that appear on my Facebook page (see Old Man Transition from Feb. 24, 2009). Of course these ads are not randomly generated by the fine folks at Facebook, they are based on information contained in our profiles. Today's blog was motivated by a recent ad that showed up on my page for mail-order brides. Mail-order brides, are you freakin' kidding me? Is this what my profile really says about me? Reducing the courtship and relational strategery to the same method that I use to purchase cookware and dress socks? Does anybody really go down this road? This notion just screams desperation or extreme laziness or a cut-to-the-chase, skip-the-B.S. approach to life.Mail-order brides, really? Well, I have done some painstaking reseach into the world of bride catalog shopping (courtesy of my good friends at wikipedia). Do you know that in the U.S. roughly 4000 to 6000 of these unions are made each year? Hmmm. Furthermore, studies have shown that these marriages result in a significantly lower divorce rate compared to "traditional" marriages? Oh my. Have you even thought about the fact that couples in these transactions typically do not even speak the same language? Aha! I believe we have finally stumbled upon the secret to the successful marriage. I can picture it now. "Honey, I am going to go out all night drinking with the guys and getting into whatever trouble comes my way. I will be back whenever I feel like it." "Glork?". Talk about your marital bliss.
