My new blog, http://www.adventuresindatingsites.blogspot.com

provides my rating of several "free" dating sites that I've been on in recent months.  While most are full of scammers trying to bilk innocent women  (and men) out of money, there is one that screens out these predators and gives you a better chance of meeting that special soemone.

A co-worker found her Mr. Right on Plenty of Fish, which I'd avoided, along with ALL dating sites, for years. Despite repeated email invitations to join, I ignored the site and didn't join a dating site until I accidentally accepted an invitation from what I thought was a networking site like Linked-in and Plaxo, both of which I belong to.

Turned out Tagged was more than just a networking site and I ended up nearly being snared by a scammer right away. Not that I would have sent him any month, but the time and effort he put into making me believe he was really interested in me was no less than a matter of determined diligence.

Late, I got a similar invitation from Net Lot, which seemed to be a networking site, as well, and it is. But it is also a dating site that reeks of scammers.  Badoo is probably the worst of all these free sites, whcih offer some free services, but give you more services if you pay a monthly fee. I never met anyone who wasn't a scammer on Badoo.

I finally joined Plenty of Fish or POF when I found out there was an app for my iPhone for the site. I also found one for Net Log and SmartDate and Zoosk, neither of which is free.  Contacts on POF came in very slowly and I met a couple of nuts, but no scammers or even "cammers," guys who want women to provide video sex for free.

Then it happened. A guy from Toledo contacted me, I answered and a couple of weeks later, he sent me his phone number.  When  I called he was busy and said he'd call me back in an hour.  Thinking I'd gotten a very typical brush off, I didn't expect to hear from him. But an hour later he called and we've been on the phone for several hours a day ever since.

We met at the public library a few days later and sat in the restaurant drinking coffee and talking for three hours. When I took a bus to come to Columbus this past weekend, he met me at the bus station to see me off, three days after our initial meeting.  Well, I've only been in love twice before, but both times it was love at first sight.

I'd forgotten how that felt until now. He feels the same way about me and we're already contemplating getting a place together. He was married for over thirty years and has no qualms about walking down the aisle. I admit to a little hesitation since I've never been married before. But we'll see.

Of course, there's a complication. He once dated a woman I worked with on my previous job and she and I are not friends, even though she is on my Facebook friend list. She's very vindictive and may try to cause us problems. But this man is everything I ever wanted and I'm willing to take the risk.