Have you ever been on a blind date?

Ugh ! Yes. Twice !
First time was a 'fix up' by 'friends'.
They did kinda bombard me with 'you'd be really good together...' Type chat.
We met at a restaurant (never do that. Half hour in you can be really sorry you came and you still have to wait until you've finished your meal before making your excuses to leave ! Meet at a bar for a drink. You can be done in half an hour if it doesn't feel right)
She spent almost the entire time talking/complaining about her recent ex.
Only so many times you can commiserate before it becomes clear this person isn't ready to date !

And the second time was as part of a 'Speed dating' thing.
For the uninitiated this is a room full of 'singles'. Ladies sat at tables. Guy approaches; introduces himself; sits and chats with lady for two maybe three minutes before a bell rings and the guys have to move on to the next table.
Both guys and girls have something of a 'scorecard' where you 'rate' your conversation out of 5 and at the end you fill in something like a 'request form' noting those you'd like to know better.
They do the same. And those running the event go through them all and try and put people together.
......Might be just me (cynical old boy that I am) but I don't think I'd ever met so many liars in one place !!!
Some folk clearly disinterested.
Some folk swearing they were single.....yet wearing a wedding ring !
Some clearly looking for a meal ticket ! Let's just say it didnt encourage me to want to try again.

I've met 2 people from a dating site but we'd chatted sent pics of each other so we kind of knew what to expect. Both good experiences.

I went on a blind date when I was 15. I met him on summer vacation.
The 3 best months of my life. He was the loml. But we lived in different states. I seen him again the next 2 summers. Then we both married other people. Then I got divorced and it was years later and I seen him again. He divorced shortly after. Then we dated for about 6 months and he got sick. He needed a bone marrow transplant. They never found a donor in time and he died. I was totally heartbroken. I loved him for years.

Yes, i was an ass...she deserved so much better

Not quite blind. We had never met, but had spoken on the phone.

Once, and although we didn't necessarily hit it off, it was pleasant. We both agreed that while it was enjoyable, that there was no chemistry.

They were all good and productive😊