After a couple of years running through the vast sea of non-Jewish men, my friend Mark and I decided that 2010 would be "The Year of the Jewish Husband." Our “dating” lives seemed to parallel each other. There was a period of time when we were both, um, “entertaining” black men, younger men, Latino men, and just plain old white guys (not “old” white guys, just your run-of-the-mill white guy.)
Both of us had quite a flurry of men after we had both ended long-term relationships, both with white Catholic guys. I was married for 7 years and Mark was with his lover for the same amount.2010 seemed like the time to buckle down and find the man that our mothers always hoped we would.
In a previous post, “Heckling At The Matzo Ball With Cocoa Butter Mark,” I end with our very short-lived desire and effort to join JDate. I was in my sunroom lounging on a chaise, glass of wine nearby, laptop on my, well, lap, and Mark was undoubtedly at a Starbuck’s, complaining about noisy kids, with his laptop on a table. We said, “One, two, three, GO!” and logged on to the registration page simultaneously.
The questions went something like this:
“What tribe do you belong to?”
a) Ashekanazy
b) Sephardic
c) Really bad Jew
d) Other
“What am I?” Mark asked?
“Well you’re kind of dark so just go with Sephardic.”
“What dietary restrictions do you follow?”
a) I keep kosher, of course. That way I get to have 2 sets of Crate and Barrel dishes!
b) I put bacon on everything.
c) I’m on a liquid fast.
d) Other
“How many times have you been to
a) HELLO, I was bar/bat mitvahed in
b) Never. I’m too afraid to fly.
c) Once but it was so hot I just stayed in my hotel
d) Other
At this point, I knew I wasn’t the type of Jew they were looking for, and after a quick search of “Men seeking Men,” Mark decided that he wasn’t either.
We gave up and went on to talk about other more pressing things, like who got eliminated on Project Runway or the cute black bartender we both had a little crush on at our favorite dive bar. Onward and upward!
Around three or 4 months after this, Mark met someone that he seemed very excited about.Mark has the great ability to be cautious, to not get ahead of himself when it comes to relationships, but I could tell that he was hopeful about this one. His last name is Nunez. From then on, he has simply been know as “The Nunez.” He’s Dominican and a real throwback to 2009 when, for me at least, it was “The Year of the Dominican.”
Not long after, just as I was about to throw in the towel on match.com, I met my now remarkable husband, whose last name just happens to be Rodriguez. Yeah. Now, instead of “The Year of the Jewish Husband,” it has become “The Century of the Jewtino.” We have even invented a cocktail—a Jewtini which is a delightful combination of rum, Coco Libre and Manischewitz, which premiered at our Jewtino Passover. If we had a spokesman he would look something like Geraldo Rivera or Juan Epstein from "Welcome Back Kotter."
We have both found true love in these incredible men. Everyone adores "The Nunez" and Ricardo Rodriguez. Mark and I have never been happier. He told this story at my wedding celebration and of course brought the house down (when he wasn't tearing up as he is known to do). We have no regrets for closing out "The Year of the Jewish Husband." We adore our spicy Latino men for everything they are and we love that we still bring out the "Jewish" in each other, throwing around the occasional Yiddish phrase while the men look on and grin.
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