Flirting in the Old Days

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First contact

–           Hi, do you have a spare cigarette, please?

–           Here.

–           Thank you.

Hey, guys, those few words bring back memories?

When you spotted a pretty young punkette at a concert and asked her for a cigarette pretending not to have one, while your pack was stashed in the bottom of your pocket.

Memories of chatting up girls, often with limited success. But if you don’t try you never know, right?

Girls too, it should bring back memories. When half (or completely) drunk guys were trying to chat you up.

Well, let’s try to stay within the norm, neither too drunk nor too sober. In any case, it’s already a pretty good start when the girl gives me a cigarette.

And after?

And after this introduction? Well, in general, I would offer a drink of my beer to the girl. Or when finances allowed it, as a hero, I went to the bar with the punkette by my side and bought her a brand new beer, just for her. Today, I can admit that my gallantry was not very sincere because secretly, I hoped for something in return.

Our beers in hand, we would start to chat. About what? Well, basically about rock ’n’ roll, although sometimes it could vary depending on the time and the level of my intoxication. Well yes, because I was shy and I had a hard time flirting if I didn’t have a little alcohol circulating in my body. And you, the old boys who read this article, I’m sure most of you were the same, right?

So, once the discussion was initiated and the attraction between her and me was confirmed, we chatted together, getting to know each other. I say for the young readers that there was no Facebook at the time. Therefore, the flirting started from scratch!

We would both tell of our young life which was beginning. Me, having recently left home, I tended to embellish a little. But you agree that it doesn’t matter to exaggerate a little bit when you flirt?!

For example, I remember saying once or twice (or more) that I was a musician, when I was just “Olivier the roadie” for the band, Coma Prolongé. Although later, I did become the singer of the group. I also said that I knew the manager of the group “Les Rats” (a French band), when in fact, I’d only contacted him by phone because I’d read in the magazine “Best” that they were going to play in Nice and I’d had the idea of ​​interviewing them during their tour of the French Riviera. But the concert didn’t go ahead. Surely I’ve exaggerated two or three other little things, but not at all serious.

That said, I could have had a really great true story, except that I didn’t know it at the time, and neither did he – but when I was 18 or 19, I was a friend with Reuno, who would become the singer of Lofofora (a French metal band from Paris)! And yes, we were hanging out together at the end of the 80s in the Nice region, where he’s from. He even came to a party at my house! Back when I had a lot of parties in my flat.

But back to flirting, the theme of this article.

The conversation between the girl and me lasted a little while. The clock was ticking and the beers followed one another.  Finally, when the end of the evening approached and separation was imminent, if the young lady had understood my intentions and she agreed, we would exchange our phone numbers . Yes, I know, sometimes it was more direct, and she would come home with me.  But when I stayed fairly sober, we would exchange numbers and everyone went back to their own place, agreeing to call and to meet each other again next time, for better or worse!

Today?

At my age, I no longer flirt.  Because I’m married.

And, as a man from the last century, I ask myself a question.

I wonder how it is today for a ‘youngster’. It’s true, with social networks, the flirting is done in the open now. Already, there’s a good chance that the girl you’ve spotted is your friend, or your friend’s friend, on Facebook.

She knows in advance a lot of information about you. So of course, it’s cool because it allows you to know exactly who you’re flirting with, so you don’t go after one of your ex’s best friends, for example. And therefore you can avoid a headache and big problems.

But where is the mystery these days?

Indeed, what about the suspense? The surprise?  The thoughts that went through our minds when we watched a pretty girl in the street.  Her style, her clothes, her looks – imagining what kind of girl she could be.

I’m not saying it was better before, I’m just saying that I don’t know how it is now, since it’s easy now to know everything, or almost everything, about each other even before the first words have been exchanged.

In addition, smoking’s now prohibited in concerts and in bars, so what technique do young people use?

Already, even before ever speaking to her, he knows the first name of the girl, of her cat, and he even knows what her parents look like.

– Hi Jade, did you see on Facebook? I ‘liked’ your photo where you pose with your cat, Tiger.

– Yeah, I saw. And I liked the one where you threw up in the toilet at your friend John’s house.

– Ah yeah …. uh, well, see you.

So, how are young people flirting these days? I know that among you there are many parents, so what are your kids doing to find a bit of romance in their lives? Leave your comments in the comments.

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Health advice: Drinking alcohol, including beer, and smoking cigarettes is dangerous for your health.  Never Mind the Wrinkles doesn’t recommend  or condone these activities.