Seniors Like Quickie Dates

Forgive Charles Walsh if he's a little slow to join in the rounds of speed dating going on around him. Not only has the 55-year-old
divorced father never tried speed dating - he hasn't been out at night except for work events in about a decade. "I was married for 20
years, and now I'm nervous," said Walsh, who preferred to sip a Bud Light at the bar and watch as more than 50 older
adults in this beachside town tried speed dating. It is a process in which men and women are paired for a few minutes of get-to-know-you
chat before switching partners. Forget boring dinner parties. Older Americans looking for love have taken a cue from young urban singles
and are flocking to speed-dating events and online personals sites. Match.com, a popular dating Web site, says registrations among people
50 and older have soared 340 percent since 2000. The American Association of Retired Persons now has a dating advice column in its member
magazine. On Maryland's Eastern Shore, where the roads are dotted with ads for new retirement communities, the changing senior dating
scene is evident. The speed-dating event Walsh attended was put on by Mingling Singles, a group that's tripled its membership since its
creation just two months ago. Another group near Ocean City, Beach Singles, has 150 members, all 45 and older, with a new chapter planned
in nearby Salisbury. The Merry Widows and Widowers Social Club also operates in Ocean City. "The seniors are pouring down here," said Lois

West, 71, secretary of . Beach Singles. "They move here for the beach, but then they don't know anybody." "We're much more active. A widow

in the olden days would sit inside and wear black. Today she's probably out dancing," West said. At the speed-dating event, some attendees

said their grown children pushed them to attend. Others said they were sick of tagging along with friends who are couples, or were just
tired of trying to find love in a bar. "As soon as my 31-year-old daughter heard about it, she was like, 'Oh Mom, you have to go,"' said
JoAnn Collinson, 52, a widow from Bishopville who said she's looking as much for companionship as romance. Rick Hosier, 56, retired to the
area after a career as a firefighter but admitted being a little scared to talk to single women. "I would've never thought I'd do this,"
he said before the lights flickered to signify the speed-dating would begin. "I just thought, it's something different. I'm not a bartype
person. I don't like crowds." The matchmaking industry is catching on to the dating interests o; .older adults. Some dating Web sites
now have special seniors-only areas Spark Networks, based in Los Angeles, started SilverSingles.com last year, and the site now has about
600,000 members. Seniors are more comfortable than they used to be with the Internet, am they're finding that online dating let; them take
their time choosing a possible mate, said Kathleen Roldan spokeswoman for San Francisco based Match.com.