The world is full of heartwarming stories about people who meet via dating apps, they develop relationships and then live happily ever after.

I have told you about my return to the world of social interaction since I lost my dear bride to cancer at the start of this year. Kathy Anne insisted I find happiness, but she made her feelings known long before the advent of the Internet, let alone these dating apps that have grown so popular.

What she couldn’t possibly know is that many of them have become cesspools, breeding grounds for individuals looking for victims on which to prey. How do I know that? I was targeted by one of those predators. My sons were able to sleuth around and discovered her bag of tricks; I confronted her … and poof! — she was gone.

This is my way of saying that I am likely to continue a more traditional path on my journey back to social interaction. It’s a much safer bet to just go out and, um …. meet people! I have joined a church in McKinney. I am meeting plenty of folks through my daily travels along my still-boring life.

I think Kathy Anne most surely would approve of my decision. She didn’t trust the Internet more than most reasonable human beings. Indeed, she was implicitly skeptical of strangers until they could prove to her that they were the real deal. Me? I tend to see the best in people until they demonstrate their evil intent.

I have learned a lot about dating apps, however.  I have learned to steer away from those who present pictures of people who are far from the age of the person who posts them. I also have detected certain language constraints from those wishing to “chat away from here.”

Most importantly, there’s a certain sameness — “How’s your day going?” — to the way many of these so-called women introduce themselves. I say “so-called” because I do fear the prospect that they could be some toothless biker chick or worse … some hairy-backed knuckle dragger.

This single life is a new thing for me. I am learning my way. The good news? I have some great family help who has my back.