Flirting Seminar Puts All the Right Moves on the Line

--First, there is the exchange of glances, often sidelong. Then, the obligatory first move--and the hope that, even in the dim light of a singles’ bar, the object of desire doesn’t notice the cigarette just dropped or drink just spilled. What to do next? Ask Joe O’Rourke, professional instructor in the art of flirting. “All I’m saying when I say ‘flirting’ is communications skills--how to start a conversation and keep it going” said O’Rourke, 35, who charges $55 for “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Flirting,” his three-hour class. “We don’t stand up in front of everyone and practice winking,” O’Rourke said in Chicago. He said his seminar is a natural extension of his usual work, teaching professional and industry groups how to sharpen their communications skills. Now, for the most important question: What works best? The line women seem to respond to most positively is: “Would you like to dance?” For men: “May I buy you a drink?” However, he adds with a dire note, by all means do not use: “So, you come here often?”

--Piece of cake, the mugger must have thought. The prey, after all, was tapping a red-tipped white cane down the street. But that was before the would-be robber knew that Todd Alan Carter holds two black belts in martial arts--something he found out in short order. Three quick karate chops later, the assailant was on the ground, choking. “He might have thought a blind person was an easy target, but I wasn’t an easy target,” said Carter, 18, who flagged a passing motorist and went home to the Florida Rehabilitation Center for the Blind in Daytona Beach. Carter, who has been practicing karate since the age of 7, said he won’t stop going places alone. “You can’t always have someone with you. You have to be independent.”

--”It’s like a war,” the veteran declared. And this is no ordinary warrior. His battlefield is a playground, and he hasn’t even reached his teens. But the fight is still intense, and the enemy is formidable: girls. Three weeks ago, Principal Richard Sousa of Oakland Beach Elementary School decided to separate the sexes during recess because, he said, the girls were playing too rough. The female students at the Warwick, R.I., school were beating up the boys. Later, though, Sousa called a summit--but it was rained out. Bitterness remains, particularly among the male ranks. Especially angry was one victim who painfully recalled being attacked. The girls, he said, kicked him “where it counts.”