"The Coffee Shop Girl You Never Spoke To"
You've replayed it a hundred times. She stood three feet away, scrolling her phone. You had an opening. You composed the perfect line — after she was gone.
For all you know, she's married now. To some guy who said something. Anything.
Openers are cheap. Almost any sentence works when it's delivered within three seconds. The expensive part is the standing there, drafting and deleting, while the window quietly closes.
The "22 Rules" stripped out my hesitation. What to open with, how to keep it alive, and the one habit that costs guys more women than anything else: waiting for perfect.
The most famous husband of a 13 year old has passed away
- Thread starter MatureDJ
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"Stop Asking Your Friends What to Text Her"
Your buddy Dave has been single for three years and thinks "hey u up" is a valid strategy. Your other buddy Mike just got dumped and told you to "just be yourself."
You showed them her text. You asked them to decode the emoji. You drafted four responses and sent the screenshot to the group chat for a vote.
She's been waiting forty minutes.
Put the phone down. Stop crowdsourcing your love life. Type something that sounds like you. Hit send. Then go do literally anything else with your evening.
Veréngárda
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logicallefty
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Slowhandluke
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It was common back then. I think Darwin did the same thing. So did carol Lewis?
9 Famous People Who Married Their Cousins
blogs.ancestry.com
MatureDJ
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I think she was technically a 1st cousin once removed.
"I just moved here from Florida."
That sentence contains at least five follow-up questions she WANTS you to ask. Where in Florida? What brought you here? How long have you been in the area? What do you miss? How does it compare to here?
She handed them to you on a silver platter. And you said, "Oh cool. I come here every week. I love this band. Ummm... pretty crowded tonight."
She smiled politely. Nodded. And never texted you back.
I was that guy for years. Talking too much. Listening too little. Panicking about my next sentence while she was literally feeding me the answers.
Then I found 22 rules that fixed the whole thing. Rule number one: shut up and listen. She'll tell you exactly what to say.
logicallefty
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Yeah I think your right, it wasn't first cousin I remember that much. I fooled around with my two second cousins when I was an early teenager so I can't say too much bout' this.
zekko
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It wasn't really common at the time, it was a huge scandal that ended his career as a top rock and roll star. You'd have to go back a little further for it to be common. Even in pioneer days, I think 14 or 15 was more acceptable. It wasn't unheard of though. Certainly it was more rare then than now. I'm not even sure it's legal now? When I was growing up, as long as your parents gave you permission, you could get married.
Elvis Presley reached an arrangement with Priscilla's parents for her to live with him when she was 14. The idea was he would marry her when she came of age and he wouldn't touch her until then, but there are rumors that arrangement didn't exactly hold up. I always wondered why Jerry Lee Lewis took so much guff for his situation when Elvis didn't.
Slowhandluke
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This is my take:
Jerry was a "mad man". He wasn't really mainstream or someone a woman would bring to her parents.
Having him marry a young innocent woman was bad enough, but also his cousin - that was scandalous at the time. Like you mention, other people in the past did it, and they weren't crucified for it. We may think of jerry not being a rebel. But he was at that time. A rebel playing the devils music should not be marrying young innocent women.
Also remember back then almost all women were considered innocent and should be protected from "bad" men.
The pioneer days was arround 1900. Jerry Lewis time was arround 1930. That's only 30 years. The time periods are not too different.
"How I Made Sure No Woman Ever Friend-Zoned Me Again"
She calls you when her car breaks down. When she needs help moving. When some guy she's actually dating treats her badly.
You're the listener. The reliable one. The guy who would treat her so much better, if she'd just open her eyes.
She won't. You trained her to see you as the low-effort option — the friend who requires zero risk and zero investment. Every favor dug the hole deeper.
The "22 Rules" break the pattern. You'll stop auditioning for a role she already cast and become the man she chases instead. It starts with Rule 1.
zekko
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It's still that way, it's just that what is considered "innocent" these days has changed. A woman can be an outright ho and people will say she is empowered and taking charge of her sexuality.
A relative of mine got pregnant and married at 15. Still married over 40 years later.