Panhandling for Marriage and Money - Wall Street Journal

By Jo Piazza

Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street JournalRobert Darling standing in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art last week with his sandwich board.

Robert Darlingwears his heart on his sleeve or, more accurately, on his chest.

He commutes once a week from his two-bedroom apartment in Bradley Beach, N.J., to seek love in Manhattan, panhandling for affection beneath a sandwich board. Im looking for a wealthy lady to be my wife, reads his entreaty, written in multi-colored marker.

The cardboard and duct tapesign folds into a neat square when Darling takes it to and from his home on New Jersey Transit. For nearly a decade, he has donned the portable personaladvertisementat his three preferred love-seeking locations: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Columbus Circle and Wall Street.

Darling, 56 years old, beginseach trip by telling himself that this day could be the day he meets the woman he will spend the rest of his life with. The odds may not be great, but they might be better than any other way, Darling said.Im still very hopeful. Ill never give up.

Outside the Met last week, many of the well-heeled women climbing the steps ignored Darling as they rushed inside the museum to catch the Alexander McQueen exhibit, but a few promising candidates stopped to read his sign.

One woman carrying a Burberry umbrella smiled as she pronounced his last name, drawing out the ah. She posed with Darling as a friend snapped a photograph and declared his sign the best she had seen while visiting from Texas. Unfortunately for Darling, however, a close inspection revealed a ring on her left hand.

Darling has lost count of the number of attractive women who have appeared in photos with him, but so far his sign has only led to one actual night out.It was a woman who wanted me to marry her friend, to get her a green card, he recalled of his one date so far. Im not here to get someone a green card. Im here to get a wife.

Darlings lovelorn sign has produced no shortage of contact from the curious, thanks to the prominent display of his phone number and email address. I have had some long conversations with people, but it usually stops there. Mostly I think people want to see if I am for real, he said.

The inquiries come from all types of people, men included.Its great they call, he said of his would-be male romancers, but Im attracted to women even if the men are rich.

In addition to the sandwich board, Darling typically dresses for his wife-hunting expeditionsin sensible khaki pants from K-Mart and a t-shirt, either in stripes or of the concert-memento variety. He has a full head of hair, a neat moustache and a fine physique for a man in his fifties.

He first appeared around Manhattan with his sign in 2001, when he decided it was time to settle down. He has never married and says he only realized in middle age that he wanted a companion.

I know that I got a late start. That might be why its harder for me to meet someone, Darling admitted. He also dabbles in online dating and often goes on dates set up by friends and family.

Darling has been unemployed for nine months following a career in security at various government facilities, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the National Museum of the American Indian in Lower Manhattan. Besides financial security, Darling says his requirements for a lady love are fairly lenient. He wants a smart woman who will make him laugh and enjoys listening to the band Genesis on the audio cassettes he carries with him.

And his threshold for wealth is refreshingly lenient, at least by the standards of the posh Manhattan areas where he looks for love: an eligible bachelorettemust have a net worth of $750,000, he says. (Asked why he spends so much time on the Upper East Side, Darling quotes the Depression-era Brooklyn criminal Willie Sutton on why he robbed banks: Thats where the money is.)

Darling is willing make exceptions for the right person. His sign offers the following caveat: Ladies Not yet rich but very well off will be considered.