Downtown Dating Scene Field Report

Where are most married couples at 1am on a Sunday Morning?... asleep.  They most likely have just clicked off Saturay Night Live, perhaps enjoying each others intimate connection, and dosed off anticipating the family friendly projects they have planned for Sunday. 

On the contrary, single people in Muscatine can often be found engaging in the 'networking' processes at various night club establishments, predominantly located in the downtown area.  So, reluctantly, I 'play the game' which does include tyring to get 'out there' especially on weekend nights.  There really isn't any reason to be 'out' after 11pm if you are married or in a serious relationship, hence this makes for the perfect time to search for a mate.  Lots of people prowling around, open to making new acquaintances.

Do people really find true love at bars?  My experience would suggest that they don't.  However, one has a greater chance of meeting a potential partner by going out on weekend nights as opposed to watching SNL with their pet.  So, I will continue to go out from time to time.  However, I can't wait to put this process behind me, as it is frustrating and some of my personality traits limit my potential for success.

I started at The Pearl, and brought my camera along hoping to maybe do some interviews documenting the nightlife in small-town America. Really was a good atmosphere with good music, romantic ambience, and a crowd that I feel relatively comfortable around.  There were plenty of attractive people there Saturday, however I wasn't quite able to 'connect' with any of them.

It seems that an unwritten dating rule is that the man approaches the woman.  Unfortunately, I am sort of introverted when it comes to talking to attractive single females, so the available women really served no purpose for me except to aggravate my frustrations.  I have plenty of strengths, but picking up chics in bars is not one of them.   So, the empty chair in the picture on the left sort of illustrates the situation... Always Searching. I should note that I don't drink anymore, so I really spent most of my time overthinking everything, but hope to be able to 'relax' more during future outings.


I then headed off to 'One More Round'.  This bar has a nice dance floor and DJ, so it has potential for more 'hooking up'.  The late night grope fest that sometimes occurs in a club atmosphere can be conducive to establishing intimacy with a stranger.  Again, I really just ended up staring at people who seemed to be having fun and then took off.

I did meet some interesting people along the way...

I logged almost 3 hours of primetime single-guy night life... really a good accomplishment considering how painful I find the notion of this specific form of social interaction.  I prefer to meet people through a common activity, and therefore also involve myself in groups such as the Muscatine Cycling Club, Pearl City Players, Community Y fitness classes, etc.

You never know, maybe on one of these late night downtown experiences, an extroverted and compatible female will instigate a life changing interaction with me that leads to a fulfilling long-term relationship.  Yeah, the odds aren't in favor of this, however, because it is technically possible, I will continue to experiment and look forward to the day when I can put this process behind me once and for all.

Do you have any thoughts about the downtown dating scene, or maybe even any suggestions for alternate activities for singles?  Feel free to post your comments, as others may find them insightful.  I am hoping that readers will get involved in this project.  By pooling our resources we should be able to change the lives of local community members... maybe even your own.

(The street interview and misc. Muscatine Matchmaker insight will be broadcast as part of the Muscatine 'IN-Box' TV show on Access Channel Nine which airs Thursday at 12pm, 5pm & 10pm and Fri/Saturdays at 2pm & 7pm. This video clip is also available within the 'Video Bar' section, which links to my Matchmaker YouTube channel.)