Are you drawn to certain occupations? Do you always date doctors? High-flyin' financial types? How about truck drivers?

Marley: Military people make the best and worst of mates. I am currently engaged to a man who joined the Army National Guard six months after finishing five years in the Marine Corps. Through him, I have discovered: 1) Military professionals are always loyal, but not always faithful. 2) Military professionals rule with a soft heart and an iron fist. 3) Military professionals know the value of humor, even in the worst situations, and the value of silence.

I have seen military fathers bark at their children to go to bed, and carry their sleeping children just as carefully as they would a bomb. I have seen military wives defend their cheating husbands even when the guilt is palpable. I have seen men sacrifice their family lives to help fellow soldiers. And I have seen a military man cry at the Marines' Hymn and then turn around and smack a new recruit and ask what the hell he was thinking when he joined the Marines.

Katie: Some people are very analytical and may feel more comfortable with engineers and the like. Others may be much more comfortable with teachers or therapists, who are usually more outgoing and sensitive. I've dated computer guys and handyman-types. They worked out fine. Relationships are like people. No two are alike.

Sophie: I always ended up with consultants, the guys who traveled Monday through Thursday, with only the weekends for a relationship. It was great. During the week, I could go out with the girls, flirt all I wanted, and then on the weekend, I was the stand-by-your-man kind of girl. I dated three at once. I was great on the phone, and gave each of them the impression that I was counting the moments till they came home. They're perfect when you're in your twenties and not looking for a lifetime commitment. Now that I'm in my thirties and in a committed relationship, it's with a lawyer.

Morgan: I'm a college-educated, professional woman who dates over-the-road truck drivers! All the male members of my family are drivers, and I drove trucks cross-country for four years after graduating from college. I love trucks and, evidently, truck drivers. Not the stereotypical uneducated, slovenly ones, but the good-looking ones who can cover lots of miles without whining about it. They can't be slugs who hang out in truck stops. They have to be the professional ones who do everything in their power to make sure that the loads get to the customers on time and undamaged, a very sexy trait.

Also, for me the truck itself is a major consideration. I make jokes that the truck is the primary consideration and the driver secondary. I love being in a relationship without the day-to-day hassles of being around a man 24/7. I look forward to the calls and there is the excitement of the spontaneous rendezvous in various locations. It takes a special person to date a truck driver. A woman has to be independent, self-confident, trusting and flexible. If your honey calls and wants you to meet him a couple hundred miles away, you need to say yes.

Are you drawn to a certain type? Send your tale, along with your questions, problems and rants to [email protected]. And check out my new ebook, "Dear Cheryl: Advice from Tales from the Front." To find out more about Cheryl Lavin, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.