60-something dater wonders why first date is always the last

Q: I am an attractive, intelligent woman in her mid-60s who looks 50. I meet men all the time. We communicate on the phone and have a great conversation. Then I meet them for dinner, we have great communication and they don't want to leave. We discuss many subjects and find common interests and values.

They always ask me out for the coming Saturday night. They call me when I get home to tell me what a great time they had and are looking forward to Saturday. We talk a little during the week and decide on a time and place for Saturday. I call the day before to confirm and leave a voice mail. They don't respond. I never hear from them again.

Why is this happening to me? They can't all be married, in relationships or dysfunctional.

Steve: They can't? Sure they can! Probably are, in fact. But keep trying.

Mia: It sounds like the men you're going out with like you, but they're otherwise occupied. You know what that means. By the way, if I were you, I'd nix the confirmation calls. Just sit back and watch what happens. If a guy wants to go out with you, he'll hunt you down. If he doesn't, there's your answer.

Q: I have been a reader of this paper for approximately 10 years, and sometimes I do not always agree with what is being printed. However, the fact that Mia said that "unwed mothers should not be glorified" is insanely offensive and demeaning!

I am an unwed mother myself and I can also speak for many unwed mothers that I meet with at Baby Gyms, Gymboree and mother-support groups. Most of us are more than just proud moms and partners to our significant others.

It's so sad that another woman can write such biased opinions on other women who have such an insanely incredible journey. A responsibility that many women and struggling couples only dream to have! I think that every single mother should be glorified for being just what she is - a mother. It is a reward I am happy to accept every single day!

Mia: Actually, what I wrote was that "you shouldn't glorify unwed parents." I made that comment in response to a stepdad complaining about his unmarried, uneducated, pregnant stepdaughter's upcoming baby shower.

The girl never finished high school, smokes and is having a baby with an unemployed pot-smoking bum. I don't care what you say. She should not be "glorified." That girl needs therapy - and to get back in school so she won't have to rely on her parents and the government to raise that poor baby of hers.

Steve: There are lots of wonderful unwed mothers, gay and straight, who have loving partners and can provide a healthy home life for their babies. There are also lots of incompetent unwed mothers without partners who provide only a miserable, dysfunctional home life for their babies. Not all should be "glorified."