Now, while we all appreciate honesty in the people we date, a little mystery and discovery is a good thing. Let's say you are seeing a pharmacist who just moved to town, and on your first date, he interjects between mouthfuls of chow mein noodles that he used to cook meth for the Hell's Angels. After grabbing your water and washing down the sweet and sour pork that you are choking on, what are you supposed to say? He just let out TMI; that's a deal-breaker.

I was on a date in Seattle many years ago when the woman I was with, a 911 dispatcher, had a few too many Long Island iced teas and let it slip that she had a drinking problem and as a result had slept with so many guys that she lost count. She decided to tell me that because she wanted to start out our relationship with honesty. Honestly, it made me cut the date short.

While the truth is often the best policy, tact usually seals the deal. I don't want to come off as shallow, but shouldn't one wait until something such as love develops before letting all the skeletons out of the closet? In the words of the fart joke king, comedian Eddie Murphy, no one wants to date anyone with so many skeletons that they spit out a bone every time they speak.

If you are saying to yourself at this point, 'I must be lucky because I've never experienced TMI on a date,' chances are you are the one spilling secrets, like a detainee in one of the CIA's secret prisons.

A woman I used to work with was always wondering why her relationships never lasted much past the second or third date. I didn't know how to tell her it was because she spent 60 percent of her dates talking about her ex-boyfriend, who was still stalking her.

Many of my over-40 friends are dating divorced people who talk incessantly about how horrible their ex-spouses were. It's almost as if they are using dating conversation as a means of therapy. Maybe instead of paying for the date, you should send them a bill.

At this point, I'd like to introduce my own acronym (it's my first, so be kind), K.I.T.Y. (pronounced "kitty"), which stands for: Keep It To Yourself. If you find a lull in the conversation during a date, and something deep inside prompts you to relate the story of the fraternity hazing incident where you lost all your butt hair, think of KITY and have another handful of popcorn. Women like a dark and mysterious man, as long as you're not part of a sleeper cell.

And ladies, it's better to keep them guessing than to let it slip out that you never take off your shoes in public because the other children called you "Flipper" when you were growing up.

KITY, girlfriend.

Our society has become a little too open these days. We know way too much about everyone's private lives and what really goes on in Las Vegas.

I believe we can begin a grassroots movement back toward dating etiquette and begin guarding our dark secrets once again. Dates should be light, optimistic and full of hope for the future of the relationship. Don't be a buzz killer. KITY.