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'Haven't I met you somewhere ...' Photo by Bob Pennell John Bermea talks about his pick-up lines with Applebee's employee Melissa Boughton, 21, of Medford. Pick-up artist collects top 10 list of come-ons By MARK FREEMAN Medford singles who still use "What's your sign?" and "Do you come here often?" as their opening salvos to meeting the fairer sex have a new savior in town. Yet John Bermea also could be seen as a saboteur for giving away some of the worst-kept secrets of pick-up artists who frequent restaurants, bars and other establishments. Bermea has attempted to chronicle some of the better cheesy opening lines men have used on women since Adam first sauntered up to Eve. He has amassed a Top 10 list of usable pick-up lines that give men a fighting chance when they meet a nice girl like her in a place like that. "My favorite one," Bermea says, "is `You with all those curves, and me with no brakes."' And before you ask ... yes, Bermea is single. He's also a 28-year-old car salesman who has never married and part of Medford's high-testosterone crowd in pursuit of the fairer sex at such establishments as Applebee's and Red Robin restaurants. In fact, it was one recent night in Applebee's when he sat near two women he wanted to meet but didn't dare hit them with a run-of-the-mill, "hey, baby" kind of opening. After watching two men try their best and fail, Bermea turned the tables by striking up a conversation about the men's poor pick-up lines. That turned into a "Cheers"-like patron poll that produced as many clunkers as keepers, he says. Here are the rest of the best: No. 2: "Can I borrow a quarter? I promised my mom I would call her when I first fell in love." No. 3: "I lost my number. Can I have yours?" No. 4: "I was going to bring you a rose, but I didn't want it to feel insecure." No. 5: "If I could re-arrange the alphabet, I would put 'U' and 'I' together." No. 6: "Do fries come with that shake?" No. 7: "Did the fall hurt? When you fell from heaven." No. 8: "I'd give up an hour in heaven to spend five minutes with you." No. 9: "Your legs must be tired, because you've been running through my mind all night." Some are dirty. Others raunchy. And some are downright awful. And truth be told, even the good ones won't make up for bad breath and boring conversation. "Pick-up lines are just ice-breakers," says Trisha Huskey, an Applebee's bartender in on the list. "They won't get you anywhere, but they're a way to start talking." While Bermea sells pick-ups by day, he doesn't peddle them at night. "I'm not a line man," Bermea says. "I'm more of a be-myself kind of guy." And he was a by-himself guy when he left Applebee's that fateful night as well. "I only got (the girls') first names," Bermea says. "They were both taken, like most of the girls are." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA