Answer: We would be the last to say that long-distance relationships can't work. We happen to know someone who found themselves in just that situation. And through open, honest communication, clever scheduling and a willingness to meet the other person halfway, they were able to forge a solid relationship.

What's that? What happened to them? No, they never got married. They broke up after he met a flight attendant on the way to see her. Now they're married.

So things do work out sometimes.

Your question raises a number of issues. You say you "met" this woman and have been e-mailing and phoning, and will visit soon. If this means you "met'` her online, and have yet to actually get together - like, in person? - then you haven't really "met" her. Because even though you may have exchanged blurry photos, nothing can substitute for real face time. Only then can you see if you have that difficult to quantify quality that cyber daters like to refer to as "chemistry," or "how badly did he/she lie on the dating profile?"

So if this is an online-only thing so far, please employ a useful dating aphorism made popular by Ronald Reagan: Trust, but verify.

If you really have already met and now wonder if a relationship is worth pursuing from long distance, here are a couple of things to consider:

One of the best things about LDRs is that every meeting is a combination of Christmas and Mardi Gras. When you see each other only once in a while, the buildup of anticipation can be, well, explosive. Invest in some of those tear-away warm-up pants they use on basketball teams.

The downside is that, because you're having so much fun getting reacquainted over and over and over again, you both might overlook annoying habits - and more serious character flaws - that would be more noticeable if you saw a lot of each other. Stuff like mullets, or vegetarianism.

The distance itself has its pluses and minuses. On one hand, it makes it easier to pursue other interests, because all of your time is not tied up on dates. At least not with her. (Kidding!)

On the other hand, if you do end up falling for her, it will get increasingly frustrating being far away. Even the most ardently erotic late-night phone calls can't make up for being there. Though you might try a Web-cam before doing anything drastic.

Our advice is to go ahead and give it a try, but do so without expectations. Yes, if you fall madly in love, one of you will probably have to move. But no need to worry about that at this early date. Instead, think of the frequent flier miles!

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