Rachelle is originally from New York. 鈥淚 went to San Francisco in my 20s, so I feel as if I grew up [there].鈥� Her husband at the time wanted to get out of New York, 鈥渁nd I鈥檓 actually glad he wanted to move. I love San Francisco.鈥� She divorced in the 1970s and, while working as an actress on the set of a film, she met a makeup artist and moved down to Los Angeles to be with him. She dated other men she met on film sets, but none led to marriage. 鈥淭here was one I should have stayed with 鈥� I made a mistake. Didn鈥檛 make a lot of mistakes but 鈥︹�� She trails off.
After years of acting and modeling, she couldn鈥檛 take the rejection anymore, so she found something else to do. She spent years working as a publicist for nonprofits. 鈥淚 finally decided, in my 50s, I needed a regular job, and I went to work for 91传媒 Family Service.鈥� She retired four years ago, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 even harder now to meet men. Because when you volunteer (she spent four years volunteering at Cedars-Sinai Hospital), there aren鈥檛 a lot of men. There are mostly women.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care how somebody looks. I like a strong, successful person. I don鈥檛 want to raise anybody. I don鈥檛 want somebody who has to worry about me. I鈥檇 like an equal. And I know that scares a lot of men. But I don鈥檛 want a hanger-on. I find veterinarians and doctors terribly interesting. I want [a man] close to my age range, because I鈥檓 so old.鈥� She鈥檚 70. 鈥淚 want to spend some time with someone, but I find the men my age want 30-year-olds, and I don鈥檛 want [those men]. My friend who married a CEO of a company has had the most gorgeous life I鈥檝e known. I鈥檇 like a little bit of that. I鈥檓 not into maids and fur coats and designer handbags, but I like nice restaurants and good places.鈥�
I ask her what kind of things she likes. 鈥淚 like going to concerts; I like going to lovely dinners together; I like walking on the beach. I don鈥檛 like hiking. But I like taking drives; I like plays, movies, and I love Netflix. I like watching movies at home lots of times. I like having people over for dinner on Friday night. I do like cooking 鈥� it鈥檚 a creative outlet. I love cats. I have a cat. But I love dogs, too. It鈥檚 funny, I like cats telling me what to do, but I don鈥檛 like men telling me what to do.鈥�
Rachelle鈥檚 pretty and very natural looking. She鈥檚 over 30 years older than me, but I don鈥檛 feel a huge generation gap. If she were closer to my age, and we were having the same conversation, it wouldn鈥檛 come off as odd. Maybe she picks up on what I鈥檓 thinking, because when we talk about the difficulties of dating, she says, 鈥淲e鈥檙e like you 鈥� only older.鈥�
She tried online dating, but one guy berated her for calling too late, another asked where she lived and said a duplex wasn鈥檛 nice enough, and the third one didn鈥檛 respond after having her send him a picture. 鈥淪o I gave up. Three strikes, and you鈥檙e out.鈥�
鈥淩etirement was hard for me. Not having a business card who says who you are 鈥� it defines you. Because I was so defined by all the things I did. You lose your identity. You鈥檝e done so much 鈥� what do you want to do next? And that鈥檚 enjoy life. I want to enjoy it with someone special. That鈥檚 so clich茅. But it鈥檚 true.鈥�
If you鈥檙e interested in anyone you see on My Single Peeps, send an e-mail and a picture, including the person鈥檚 name in the subject line, to mysinglepeeps@jewishjournal.com, and we鈥檒l forward it to your favorite peep.
Seth Menachem is an actor and writer living in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. You can see more of his work on his Web site, , and meet even more single peeps at .
