Age of Empathy

We publish high-quality personal essays, humor essays, and writer interviews. Our goal is to provide a place for experienced writers to share authentic stories and connect with others, collectively celebrating a common passion, striving toward an age of empathy.

Member-only story

Don’t Date Men With Verbs for Names

6 min readFeb 14, 2025

--

Four dudes looking down at you
These men undoubtedly have verbs for names. Don’t date them. Photo by SHVETS production on pexels.com

Once I dated a Drew, and no, it wasn’t short for Andrew; it was just Drew. True to his name, he was a creative type, a designer. A few years younger than me, he was an adoring delight and I probably broke his heart because he just wasn’t right for me. We’re still pals, and he’s now married with two adorable kids. No regrets there.

That’s a rare win for the verbs.

Most of the verbs? They’re not good men to date.

I’ve dated a Mark or two. Ironically, they were a flighty bunch who never stuck around to be indelible.

And don’t get me started on Matts. Sure, the verb has a different spelling. Matte: to finish with a dull or lustrous surface. Mat: to become entangled, form tangled masses. A Matt broke my heart when I was in my early 20s. I can’t recall much about our short-lived romance, not even his last name. I know we met when I lived in Atlanta, and I took him with me on a weekend road trip to Nashville, where I’d gone to grad school. It was a fun trip, until he dumped me — just before the four-hour ride back. And I was driving! Oh, how I wish 50-something Dana could…

--

--

Age of Empathy
Age of Empathy

Published in Age of Empathy

We publish high-quality personal essays, humor essays, and writer interviews. Our goal is to provide a place for experienced writers to share authentic stories and connect with others, collectively celebrating a common passion, striving toward an age of empathy.

Dana DuBois
Dana DuBois

Written by Dana DuBois

Publisher for Pink Hair & Pronouns, Three Imaginary Girls & genXy. Boost nominator. GenX word nerd. Newsletter: https://danaduboiswrites.substack.com/subscribe

Responses (24)