ATLANTA — Renee Weiss and Miles Miller met last October at a speed dating event at Somerby Sandy Springs, a retirement community, and immediately clicked.
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The event, the first of its kind at Somerby Sandy Springs, brought together 10 men and 10 women ranging in age from 75 and 96. Weiss and Miller, who live independently nearby (she lives in Alpharetta; he lives in East Cobb) heard about the event and were encouraged by friends and family to participate.
She’s 80. He’s 92.
At the event, men and women were paired up for only four minutes before the sound of a whistle signaled it was time to move spots and meet another potential love interest.
For Weiss and Miller, four minutes with each other was enough time for a love connection. They have been together ever since, recently returning from a cruise. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently interviewed the lovebirds, who prove it’s never too late to fall in love. The interview has been edited for length.
Q: Tell the story how you met.
Weiss: I was sitting at table No. 3 and it was his turn to come to Table 3. We talked. And you had a little piece of paper in front of you, and if you said you sort of liked a guy and he liked you, you put a mark there. And at the end, we both liked each other. Then he called and we went to dinner. We went to dinner and he kept calling and I kept going out with him … . We just came together so easily and enjoyed each other's company and we liked the same things.
He loves nice restaurants and I love to go to nice restaurants. We laugh and we kid around. He is (a) pleasure to be with and he is very smart.
Miller: I left my name and address. I called and she called … . We finally got together and it has been fun ever since. It's been real nice. She's the best. We just got back from a cruise seven days, went to the west Caribbean and had a great time.
Q: Talk about your relationship. You two seem to kid around a lot. Is this different than other relationships? You two seem like two teenagers in love and I mean that the best way possible.
Weiss: I was married (for) 56 years to one man and he passed away five years ago, and I didn't date, didn't have anybody else. The first time I went to this meet-and-greet thing, it just clicked. It felt like [Miles and I] knew each other forever and everything we do is fun. We go to restaurants; everybody loves us wherever we go. They always say we are (an) awesome couple.
When I make a reservation, I usually go to Open Tables to make the reservation. They have a little spot for a comment and I always put down a little thing saying, “two seniors in love.” That seems to get their attention. We went to one restaurant, this waitress was so great.
Miller: She sat down with us and took photos. And desserts free, coffee free, appetizers, Champagne free.
Q: What does it feel like to find each other right now at this moment in your life?
Miller: The interaction between us, doing thing together instead of staying home staying sorry for ourselves and so forth. To get out and do something, and plan ahead. If you don't plan ahead, you are not living.
You get old, and you can sit and die, or you can get out and do things and if you get do things and are happy, and you can make other people happy. Making other people happy makes us happy.
Weiss: We can go just go and feed ducks, or go to a movie or we go on a walk … . What we do is not crazy. We just have fun and we enjoy each other and we look forward to seeing each other and we talk on the phone at least twice a day.