Spending Time On the Chat Line

My life is a miracle.

Guess what I did last night? He..hee..

Kim kept me on the phone so late that by the time her boyfriend got to her house, I couldn’t go to sleep.

So I turned on the TV and watched the commercials when I saw an ad for a local singles chat line. Hmm…Why not? It’s free.

I called up the chat line and made an ad.

“Hi, I’m [insert fake name here] I’m 21 and I’m hoping to make a friend. Will you be my friend tonight?”

Man…I was bombarded with messages from men who wanted to talk to me. Through the chat line you don’t have to give anyone your phone number, you talk through the system. I had a few conversations, one of which really stood out to me.

I met this man, I can’t remember his name though. He told me that he just came back from Iraq and will return there in 2010.

“So you mean you were fighting over there?” I asked him.

“Yeah.”

“Did you kill anyone?”

“Yes. Three people.”

“YOU KILLED SOMEONE?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me what the military ingrained in your mind to make you want to kill someone when there’s no real war to be fought.”

“You have to understand that over there, every household is armed. They don’t want us there. They have suicide bombers everywhere. Little hids, women. Everyone is a suspect.”

“Well, how was it having to transition back to civilian life?”

“It was hard at first. It’s like, everywhere you go, you’re paranoid. You’re always looking over your shoulder. But I’m better now.”

“What are you doing with yourself now?”

“I’m in school working on a criminal justice degree and I’ve applied to the police academy.”

“Oh, that’s cool. You’re going to be a police officer. But why are you going back in 2010?”

“I’m still under contract.”

“But what if the war is over when by the time you have to go back?”

“It won’t be. Even when the new president is sworn in, they won’t take office until January and then if they decide to stop the war, the order has to go through Congress and all that. It’s not ending anytime soon.”

Although most of the people on there are looking for quick hits and I’m not interested in anything like that, it seems like some of the men on there are really looking for companionship, or at least they say they are.

I don’t take it seriously but I do see it as a viable way to meet someone. I’m not really interested in dating anyone or hooking up but it would be nice to have a new friend to call and have conversation with sometimes.

I may do it again tonight. ~shrugs~

Any suggestions for a new fake name?