Dear random number that texted me...

Thank you for the invitation! That is so very kind of you. Your wonderful words of greeting ("hello baby, come") immediately put me at ease and made me realize I had just made a new friend.

I would be happy to "hook up," as you call it, though I'm not 100% sure what that means. I assume it means we will be doing the sorts of things that friends do, like bowling, flying kites, crafting, book discussions...that sort of thing.

I have to tell you, Laura—may I call you Laura?—your text made my day. It's not often that someone from an unknown Los Angeles number texts you out of the blue with the intention of striking up a friendship, and I can only conclude that you are a selfless and giving person.

One thing, though, Laura, and this is important: I have to ask my wife if it's OK for us to go out and do stuff together. I can't imagine she would say no (who would be against friends getting together?), but I've been married 29 years and I just feel like you should get permission from your wife before engaging in this "hooking up" thing.

Again, I'm not sure what it is, but I'm excited to find out!

Here's my thought: You fly here from L.A. on, say, a Friday. We'll take in a movie Friday night and grab dinner. Then you can sleep over our house and we'll have all day Saturday to do whatever we want. We have some great museums here in Cleveland, and I wouldn't want you to come to our fair city without a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I'm sure Terry wouldn't mind cooking us dinner Saturday night, after which (assuming you have the energy for it) we'll be looking at 3 or 4 uninterrupted hours of board games. I know, I'm pumped about it, too! We have a whole closet full, though I must ask that we include Life and Pay Day on our list. You can choose the rest.

On Sunday morning we'll go to Sunday School and church, of course, then I can drive you back to the airport. Along the way we'll stop at our local public library where Terry occasionally works. It's a real gem and I would be so proud to show it off to you.

Of course, I'm riffing here and these are just ideas. You may have other things in mind for us to do, in which case please feel free to throw out suggestions.

I'll tell you, Laura, your text has really restored my faith in humanity. As a middle-aged man with a credit card and a stunning vulnerability to flattery, I cannot imagine anything going wrong here.

Write back soon!