It was an unusual pick-up line, but Georgia Peacock had only a few minutes.
She needed to cut to the chase.
“Are you a Bingo player?”
Peacock, 74, would try the line on numerous potential suitors Wednesday afternoon ? men who, in turn, vied to capture her interest with tales of prize-winning petunias, church volunteerism and novels on genealogy.
The seven men and seven women were the first to participate in a new addition to Baltimore County?s annual Senior Expo: speed dating for seniors.
Most widowed and unsure how to break back into the dating scene, county officials said they decided to offer the event for three senior age brackets to provide a safe, comfortable environment to meet new people with similar interests.
Some couples clung to a list of suggested questions to ask each other, others strayed. Most chatted politely about where they live, where they go to church, hobbies, their children, their grandchildren.
And their great-grandchildren.
“This is the oldest group I?ve ever done,” said Kirk Walton, an event organizer with 8 Minute Dating, the company who sponsored the event. “But they?re not here to meet the man or woman of their dreams, just to make a new friend.”
“If they meet the man or woman of their dreams, double,” he added.
Most agreed they just wanted someone to share a meal, a movie or simply a good conversation.
Mel Tibbels said he has been a widower for 11 years and heard about the event at the Cockeysville Senior Center.
He signed up, knowing he would meet other single women close to his age.
“I?m not looking to get remarried,” he said. “Over the years, I just thought it would be nice to have a female companion.”
The Baltimore County Senior/Baby Boomer Expo continues from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the Exhibition Hall, Timonium Fairgrounds.
