I am a retired executive with the Federal Government and still do some government consulting work and travel occasionally for an Alaskan Native firm. My wife of many years passed away in the last year leaving a great void in my life, even though my four grown children (two boy, two girls) and grandchildren attempt to help. I "down sized" from a very large, nice home that we had built eight years ago, to a very nice, water front home, (but much smaller)place here in Port Orchard.
I love projects and presently in the process of remodeling and expanding my new waterfront home. Building and/or remodeling homes is my passion and I enjoy the challenges and interaction with the contractors, designers, architects, engineers or whomever. (The permit process however can be frustrating!)
I own a very nice townhouse in Scottsdale, Arizona and try to get down there as much as possible, especially in the wet, dreary weather we experience up here in the great Northwest at this time of the year.
Many of my goals in life I have aready achieved but obviously not all. I am financially O.K., in reasonably good health for my age, have traveled extensively around the world and from coast to coast in our great country; I am a Marine Corps veteran and take a great deal of pride in the Marine Corps (and for that matter, all branches of the Armed Forces) and in our country. I even traveled as a government contractor just a few years ago to Iraq, because I thought it would help. (Of course, I was wrong and now question why our country even went there, much less stay so long) I have had interaction with many, many politians in the past and their status does not impress me, only their accomplishments. (such as the late Senator Jackson who I had a great deal of respect for and his leadership in our state)
I can discuss politics and religion along with the best, but prefer not to debate them, and just wont. I like stimulating, lively, thought provoking conversations about a variety of things including sports. (Baseball is by far my most favorite sport and attend many of the Mariner Spring training games in Arizona). I like and follow most sports, except basketball and frankly can't see the sport as being equal for all participants. (One just needs to be very tall and agile; well, maybe a little more than that, but you get the idea.) I like watching some good T.V. but certainly not a couch potatoe nor do I have a fixation with sports. I am more a Discovery Channel, National Geographic, American Greed, Documentary, Wild Life, etc. type of guy.
My taste in music is pretty simple and straight forward. I hate rap, heavy metal, etc, and lean towards the soft rock and many of the oldies of course. I enjoy Western, good music and listen to it occasionally. I always have my radio on to soft rock stations such as 106.9;
I am fairly computer savvy but not fanatical about searching the internet and many of the new fads.

Well first of all, a "date" or "dating" is a rather foreign subject to me as I haven't done so in many years. I am not shy however, and frankly I can be very blunt and direct; but that being said, I believe that I am sensitive to others and respect their issues or privacy; especially to women. I abhor violence to women and don't understand why some men do that. I have a great deal of sympathy for women who find theselves in an abusive relationship and can't seem to find the escape route.
But back to the question of "first date", depending on the individual woman of course, I would like to know more about her; what she thinks is important in life; what she likes and dislikes, where she has been in the past and wants to go in the future, (within reason). My "ideal" date then would be a lunch or dinner at a nice quiet place that would allow discussion and conversation. Although I like Sports bar type atmosphere most of the time to a stuffy French restuarant, I don't think I would entice my first encounter with a woman to a Sports bar with a dozen blaring T.V. sets, etc... That is too much competition for me.
Maybe even a drive, ferry ride, stroll, etc. would also work.