A 'Catfish' tale... But, who is this Man?? 

Once upon a time, a sweet girl created a dating profile. Or a few. I've tried this more than once during the past couple of years. It's apparently what you do in this age. There are WAY too many sites to choose from.  With the subscription prices for spots like Match, it looks like quite a lucrative business to be in.   Another topic for another time, perhaps.

I chose OkCupid.   Heard of it?   It's free!  By my judgment, it's classier than PlentyofFish and more detailed than Tinder..not that I actually have experience with Tinder. Sigh.. Maybe that will be my next stop.  But, OkCupid it was... onward. Let's dig right in, Shall we?

....Meet "callahantheory"   Or Derek, as he introduced himself.  Derek is charming, good looking, educated and earns$70,000yr...

       

                                                                                               ...   This guy caught my attention straight away... I noticed him. Gave him a "star" indicating I "like" him and left it at that.  

When he messaged me, the first thing he says is..

 "It's a beautiful day to save lives"

Any avid Grey's Anatomy fan will know those words anywhere. #McDreamy

 In my profile, I listed Grey's as one of my favorite shows; it was a smart move for him to lead with a line from the guy every girl loves. 

We do the usual thing, "Are you from here"?  I asked him first.. He says he's from North Carolina originally.  Well, funny that.. So am I! In my excitement, I basically blurt out the small town I grew up in, to which he replies that he has family in?!   

"Wait. What?!!"  How is this possible? My home town is small.. we have a cotton field "downtown". 

So, track with me here.. He currently lives in one of my favorite places (the beach).  He is from the same corner of NC that I'm from (impossible).   Makes good money, attractive, smart, handsome, tatted up (did you notice those?), in shape.. #Winning!

 You can imagine my response.   So, I gave him my number. We started texting straight away.



His number came through as 912-339-8679, "Hey, it's Derek".
We small talk and right away he impresses me with the days events of chaperoning a coworker's, kid's birthday party...and adds that "it should be a good day".

Because I'm completely in awe that he actually has relatives in my hometown, I ask who his family there are. He replies with a surname and I ask him about a couple people with that last name that he may know.
It's possible I went to high school and graduated with his cousin? small.World. But whatever, I moved on.

We small talked about Grey's Anatomy (it really is my all time favorite show, get over it) and he tells me sweet nothings about how beautiful he thinks I am.. Pretty Dreamy, this guy.



After a sort of lull in our contact, when I heard from him again he was "spending the weekend in the hospital". It was an attack of appendicitis! Oh no! You poor, cute, thing! He was being treated with antibiotics and may have to have surgery! Pulling on my heart strings big time. As if he hadn't already.  Derek had also told me the reason why he didn't drink alcohol.  His reason was from some pretty severe abuse he witnessed and endured as a child. Man.. tough life.

So, presently he's in the hospital, I'm doing what any kind hearted one does.. checking in via text. Apparently Friday he's admitted,  has surgery Sunday morning and was discharged that afternoon. Where's my emoji's when I need one?
The story continues with minor small talk and flirting.. Then he sends me a couple of pics..

Ummm, HI!  I called him out on his sexy, seductive pic..to which he offered up "silly faces" and I got the "home alone" pose.

To get to the good stuff. He asked me out and set up reservations at a fancy restaurant in town. We both expressed our excitement to meet. All was well!

One detail I forgot.. Initially, he was texting from the local number, but then stated he left his phone in Atlanta while there briefly for business. So, he began messaging me using iMessage from this email address:  slamdunc92@gmail.com
No big deal. Things happen.. whatever.  Right?!

The thing that struck me odd was a photo he sent later in the week, while supposedly in Savannah "having lunch will all my co-workers". Lavender, linen shirt and then there is the large vase, and teal blue tile flooring in the background. This is  not something you see in Savannah, Ga.. I began to get spooked. Asked him, nicely, about his Facebook, where he worked..etc.

He never responded about social media but told me he worked for S&S Therapy LLC. Derek never offered his last name either.. At that point, I'm like; ok..you need to call me. He didn't.  He told me his sister was flying in and she had some drama going on. It was a "rough night".


Hmmmmm..... Sounds pretty fishy to me!!!!
I screenshot the urban dictionary definition of a "catfish" and sent it to him. McDreamy immediately replied that he's not a catfish and that I could verify him on Facebook under the name "Matthew Callahan", which is his "middle" name... I checked it out.

Nothing. 

He offered some FaceTime or Skype later..which, yea! Bring it.. but for now, why can't I find his Facebook?  I text him back to tell him I couldn't find him.
I did however put in "Derek Matthew Callahan Savannah Ga" in Google and the first thing that popped up was the Sex Offender Registry. >insert choice emoji here<  So, I screenshot that and sent it to him :)

He responded with this:

He's good.. Looks freaking legit. Go ahead, search it.. you won't find anything.  I learned that you can create a fake Facebook profile that looks authentic and was reminded of how heartless people can be.  My last words to him (to which he never responded) were if he actually were to FaceTime me, and is who he says, I owe him an apology. 

I also told him I hope whoever the real person is on the other side of this isn't some stalker/perv who I have to be on the watch for and that he/she should be ashamed of themselves. 

Moral.. Humans can be terrible. But I can't let that stop me from being the compassion driven, mostly optimistic person that I am. 

I caught a catfish. I got upset about that. I have real genuine safety concerns about that. But, I will not  let it drag me down to bottom feed with it... 

Be careful out there in this big, wide world. Don't live in fear, that will paralyze you.. but do be careful. 

God Bless. 

Don't be a catfish.