My own reality TV show

Single people are so much fun. After you've been married for a decade or so and can barely remember being with someone you wouldn't belch in front of, they remind you about romance.

I'm monitoring the love lives of a number of single friends. It's like my own reality show. I'll share some plot lines with you:

One of them went to dinner and a Nashville jazz club with her new man, and he picked up the tab. (Married ladies: This is apparently more rare these days than you might think.) There was some excellent kissing, and he showed up the next morning on his Harley-Davidson, ready to take her to breakfast and then for a ride in the country.

Another friend met a guy for a business meeting at a coffee shop in Columbia, one thing led to another and now they're taking weekends in St. Louis and surprising each other with gifts.

A third, who lives down here in Florida, is a young lady who tears through fellas like Kleenex. "If one of these hurricanes is going to get me, I'm going to have a little fun first!" she announced last week after sharing the details of her latest date.

In short, their lives are spontaneous and fun, full of suspense about what will develop next.

I guess this is why shows about dating are so popular and shows about marriage aren't. You've got "Room Raiders," where people date based on the appeal of their bedrooms. There's "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," "Outback Jack" and "A Dating Story." However, you'll never see, "The Bachelor and Bachelorette Celebrate Their Sixth Year of Marriage."

(Now you're saying, "But Heidi, there's the very popular 'Newlyweds' on MTV. What about that, huh?" Come on! Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson aren't your average married couple. To celebrate her national tour, Nick flew Jessica to Austin, Texas, rented a limo, drove to the church where they were married, reserved a restaurant just for them and then took her back to their honeymoon suite. When's the last time that happened to YOU?)

The Other Half and I will be married 10 years in April. The surprises are pretty much gone, although Mr. Half did learn to use chopsticks the other day. I never thought that would happen. But see what I mean? You can't really build a television show around a wife's relief that her husband finally learned to use chopsticks.

Also, with our two well-over-full-time jobs, just about every activity must be scheduled. "Oh, I don't know. Do YOU want to?" isn't the kind of dialogue TV producers are looking for.

On the other hand, I've got a fourth friend who went on a couple dates with a guy and is now being semi-stalked by him. You know, the surprise knocks on the door and the endless "whatcha doin'?" phone calls?

It's great for my private reality series, but isn't so great for my friend. That sort of plot line reminds me why learning to use chopsticks can be great fun.

Tune in next time. ...

Heidi Hall is a former managing editor of the Southeast Missourian who now lives in St. Petersburg, Fla.