It was back in the early 90s. At that point, I was already what seemed at the time to be a long time modem user. I started hanging out on electronic bulletin boards in the mid 80s. At first, they allowed only one person to be signed into them at a time. Users would dial into them, read messages, respond to messages, and log out.

In the later 80s and early 90s, multiple line BBSes started to pop up. Multiple people could dial into them at the same time and even do live chat back and forth. A very large BBS called Lower Lights eventually had enough phone lines connected to it that I believe it might have supported as many as 30 users at a time. It became very popular.

One day, I met a guy in a big group chat who knew several of my other friends. Incidentally, one of those friends is the nephew of Russell Nelson. Another of them was a girl who later became my ex-wife.

Anyway, believe it or not, I was a bit of a goofball and found pleasure in making myself sound ridiculous in front of a big, electronic audience. This guy thought my immature, almost nonsensical humor was funny and asked if I wanted to hang out with him at a little coffee shop called Grounds For Coffee that was across the street from Liberty Park. I was near the area frequently anyway because I was a University of Utah student so I agreed. We sent each other board mails to confirm the plan.

Then I got a little nervous because it was just gong to be the two of us and I didn't really know him. I wouldn't even know how to recognize him if I saw him. The girl who later became my ex-wife knew him quite well and we were friends at the time so I invited her to come with me to hang out with the guy.

When we got to Grounds For Coffee, the girl pointed him out and we walked over to him. I introduced myself to him and all that normal stuff as I got comfortable in a seat across from him. After a few minutes, I stepped up to the counter to order a drink or something. When I got back, the girl looked sick and said she needed to go.

Since I was responsible for her transportation, we hung out for just a few more minutes before we left.

When we got to the car, the girl explained that when I walked up to the counter, the guy chewed her out for crashing his date with me. "I didn't know it was a date! "

At first, I felt bad for me and then I felt bad for the guy and then I noticed how absolutely hilarious it was. I had been asked out by gay guys many times in my life to that point already. I guess I had a gay aura back then. I don't know. I had never been tricked, however, into actually going on a date until that guy got me.

When got home, I dialed into Lower Lights and had a boardmail from him explaining how ludicrous it was for me to bring a girl on our date. How could we ever get to know each other with a girl hovering right there between us?

I respectfully as a I could responded back to him explaining that the whole thing was a misunderstanding and that, believe it or not, I'm not gay and have no plans to ever be gay. Guys just don't do it for me even if some of the things I say or write to them may sound flirtatious at times. That's just me being the weirdo that I am.


Anyway, yeah.

I guess that counts as a blunder.