All right, I have finished the research and I am still grumpy about the results. I had hoped my mood would go away after a few days and leave me with an upbeat slant on the topic, but that has not happened. Dealing with manipulative advertising gets more annoying every day!

It doesn't help that I really wanted to be able to share good news. I've reached the age where there are more single women than men, and I live in an area largely populated by retired people. Many of my good friends are single and some would prefer to be married once more, but there are few in their age who are Bahá'ís, or even of similar interests.

I was once there myself--widowed at 49--so I know that especially for people of a certain age and experience (meaning they are much clearer about what they want and don't want) it can be difficult to feel much hope in slim local pickings. The Internet does increase the number of one's choices, but the quality may not be any better. That said, I should admit--just in the interest of transparency--that I have now been married nearly twenty years to a fellow I met on the Internet...long before there were dating services, advertising, or even graphics!

So, here's the latest article from the Baha'i site at BellaOnline.com, and I'm sorry if it is sort of a downer.

Baha’i Online Dating Services Updated
Information about online dating services that target Baha´is.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54473.asp

Do visit bahai.bellaonline.com for more articles on ways to change the world through improved parenting, education, and tools for character building, plus links to the sacred texts of the Bahá'í Faith. You don't have to rely on only my understanding, when you can go straight to the source!

Join free online discussions, view time sensitive announcements and check out interesting external links in the site forum located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=321

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback.

Cheryll Schuette, Baha'i Editor
http://bahai.bellaonline.com

One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com