Mich. woman fined for stabbing husband with fork during restaurant argument

PLYMOUTH, Mich. - A woman accused of stabbing her husband with a fork during an argument at a restaurant has pleaded no contest to reduced charges of being drunk and disorderly.

Canton Township police and the Wayne County prosecutor's office had pressed a felonious assault case against Kelly Campbell-Baumgartner, despite her husband's objections.

But a county judge dismissed the felony charge, and Campbell-Baumgartner entered the plea Monday in exchange for the dismissal of a misdemeanour assault and battery charge.

The judge ordered her to pay $350 in fines.

William Baumgartner earlier denied he had been stabbed in the April incident and said he had no interest in pressing charges against his wife.

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Why Too Much Dating Is Bad

In a national trend, single people are seeking advice from professional dating "coaches."

Some lonely hearts are willing to pay up to $100 an hour to get advice on how to "hone their seductive skills for the often vexing dating world," according to a story in this newspaper.

Except for the price gouging, I see nothing wrong with the lovelorn seeking tips on how to attract the opposite sex. But here's something a dating "coach" probably won't tell you. Having too many dates is worse than having none. Sounds crazy, I know. Let me explain.

When I was in my early thirties, I realized I was lonely, having a scattered dating life.

So a friend and I, who was also lonely, decided to do something about it. We created the "Bucks County Singles Dining Club."

The idea was to get local singles to meet once a month at a restaurant. If you met someone you liked, it was up to you to make a date. If not, all it cost you was the price of a dinner, and there was always next month.

We advertised and phone calls poured in.

We had fun and shared many great meals. At least one couple became engaged after meeting through our club.

We had about 10 singles at our first get-together at the King George Inn in Bristol. I got a date out of that one. So did my buddy.

Our ads listed our phone numbers. One day I received a call from an irate woman who said she had called my buddy for information.

"You know what he asked me?" she hissed. "He wanted to know how much I weighed!"

I apologized, but she wouldn't accept. I don't think she ever came out to our dinners.

We screened attendees, but oddballs slipped through. One woman insisted she meet both of us at the Waterfront Grill in Bristol, which we did. As we sipped drinks, she lifted her pant leg to reveal a snub nose .38 revolver in a leg harness.

Another woman, a dental hygienist, insisted my buddy accompany her to her dental office — after hours.

"She put me in the chair and examined my teeth," he told me, "And then she ..."

Stop! I said.

"...flossed me."

As the club grew, so did my number of dates. It got to where I was out most nights. This became a nightmare.

I got my dates' names wrong, could not remember what movies we had seen together, recalled dates with one that I had with another.

My brain frazzled.

The stress grew and the hassle made me short-tempered at work.

I actually began wishing for my peaceful, lonely-heart life back.

This ended when I met my wife, who was not a part of the dining club. It was nine months from our first date to our wedding day. Then suddenly we had three kids — Bing, Bang and Boom.

If you are lonely and seeking a sweetheart, here is some free advice gleaned from my experience as an accidental Romeo.

The best opening line is "Hi."

A casual pizza and Coke date is just as much fun as the most meticulously planned outing to a pricey club/bar/restaurant.

You will know when the right one comes along.

Never ask a woman her weight.

Always floss.

J.D. Mullane, http://www.phillyburbs.com

Love is blind in pitch black restaurant

Love is blind -- but in this case, so were the lovers, the waiters and all the other diners at the blind date in the dark.

Lawyer Dennis Cohen thought the "Dining in the Dark" adventure billed as a three-course gourmet meal served in a pitch black dining room by blind waiters would make for an intriguing kickoff to romance.

Held in a banquet hall at a Los Angeles hotel, the culinary and sensory event offers utter obscurity, anonymity and gourmet food -- but is not recommended for anyone scared of the dark.

"I put an ad on (online networking Web site) Craig's List talking about the place and saying, 'Wouldn't it be fun to meet on a blind date and have it be really a blind date?" Cohen told Reuters.

Diners at the once-a-week restaurant called "Opaque" are led into a pitch black dining room by the blind waiters who act as their guides for the evening.

"Oh my God, it's really dark! They're not kidding, it's really dark!" laughed waiter Michael Headley, mimicking a typical first reaction by customers.

The idea of eating dinner in utter blackness may strike many as odd, if not downright unpleasant.

But the concept has already proven popular among Europeans in cities such as Berlin, Paris, Hamburg and Zurich, and the general reaction has been enthusiastic, said Ben Uphues, the event's Los Angeles producer.

"The idea behind it is to offer the sighted person an experience they will never have in their life," Uphues said.

DARKNESS OVERWHELMS SOME DINERS

The giggles and nervous titters of people unaccustomed to the dark are eventually replaced by boisterousness as diners tackle the challenge of consuming their food in the dark -- meals are chosen beforehand in the lighted lobby.

Headley, 42, and other waiters carefully guide plates and glasses into diners' hands.

Every once in a while, Headley said, a patron will escape to the bathroom and refuse to come back to their table.

A former community center director who lost his sight two years ago from glaucoma, Headley said he couldn't find work before Uphues contacted the Braille Institute.

"This is something I could do with the skill level I had," said Headley, who enjoys serenading lucky guests with songs such as "Happy Birthday" or "When I Fall In Love." "It gave me the confidence to begin to do other things."

Besides the dinner rolls that invariably find their way to the floor, sighted guests don't leave as much of a mess at their tables as one would expect, Uphues said.

Cohen, who felt entirely comfortable in the dark, said he managed to pour champagne for his date without spilling on her but some diners found it hard to connect forks and food.

"You learn how much you rely on your eyesight for cutting food and making sure there's something on your fork," said Russ Hemmis, a real estate investor out with his girlfriend. "But at least I can pick my nose without anyone noticing."

Cohen's date, Avril Cunningham, said the darkness encouraged relating to her mysterious companion "on a different level."

Apparently it worked its magic. The couple -- who laid eyes on each other for the first time back in the lobby after the meal -- have plans for a second date.

"I'm going to make her dinner," said Cohen, adding, "I told her I would blindfold her."

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited.