On Friends and Aging
Ever since I was in daycare, most of my friends have been guys.
I don’t know why, but, on the average, I just find it easier to get along with a guy than with a woman. It might be because I get hamster jokes. (See post below.) Granted, I get along a lot better with my girlfriends than I would with any guy, but these women are far above average!
In the last few years, however, I’ve noticed a new tendency. Being friends with an attached guy is still an easy job. Being friends with a single guy, however, is becoming increasingly difficult. This includes attached guys who secretly wish they were single.
It didn’t matter when we were in our 20’s and early 30’s. Now, things change. Single guys our age start acting strange. They give off these vibes that make me highly uncomfortable.
Now that I think of it, I recall having a few older friends, five or so years ago. They also acted differently. There was a guy in my old job that I liked to chat with. Then I changed jobs. A week after I left, he got my email address from a girl friend of mine, and started emailing me several times a day. Which, in itself, wouldn’t be odd, except that his emails always started with: “Dear Goldie” and ended with: “Love, Billy Bob” (okay, his name wasn’t really Billy Bob… I made it up to retaliate for several weeks of confusion and embarrassment.) Billy Bob ended up inviting me for a “couple beers after work”. Which, again, wouldn’t be strange in itself, but the vibes… the vibes! (Plus the fact that it was a 50-mile drive for Billy Bob.) I had a very bad feeling about that meeting. Fortunately, I must have said or done something wrong during our beer date, and Billy Bob never called or wrote again. I was 33; Billy Bob was forty.
I wonder if this is the midlife crisis everyone has been telling me about. And, if it is, then how come guys my age are getting hit? This makes no sense! We are young, dangit! Are we the next generation or not? Why, it was only yesterday that we got out of college! Um, wait a minute… we’re almost forty. Just like Billy Bob.
Now when did that happen?
And what’s next? Hot flashes? Kids taking our car keys away? Nursing homes?
Our generation is aging fast, and that is scary. Have we, at least, made a difference in the world? Do we still have enough time to go ahead and make the difference? And how? Does blogging count? (yeah, right!)
In case you’re wondering what triggered this post… something did. I don’t have the guts to talk about it on this blog, but, I’m worried. Okay, I’ll say it. I’m worried that I will lose a good buddy because he’s about to join the ranks of the available. I’m not happy with this “going on forty” thing. I just hope our generation manages to get through it in one piece.
After that, we’ll all be friends again.
I don’t know why, but, on the average, I just find it easier to get along with a guy than with a woman. It might be because I get hamster jokes. (See post below.) Granted, I get along a lot better with my girlfriends than I would with any guy, but these women are far above average!
In the last few years, however, I’ve noticed a new tendency. Being friends with an attached guy is still an easy job. Being friends with a single guy, however, is becoming increasingly difficult. This includes attached guys who secretly wish they were single.
It didn’t matter when we were in our 20’s and early 30’s. Now, things change. Single guys our age start acting strange. They give off these vibes that make me highly uncomfortable.
Now that I think of it, I recall having a few older friends, five or so years ago. They also acted differently. There was a guy in my old job that I liked to chat with. Then I changed jobs. A week after I left, he got my email address from a girl friend of mine, and started emailing me several times a day. Which, in itself, wouldn’t be odd, except that his emails always started with: “Dear Goldie” and ended with: “Love, Billy Bob” (okay, his name wasn’t really Billy Bob… I made it up to retaliate for several weeks of confusion and embarrassment.) Billy Bob ended up inviting me for a “couple beers after work”. Which, again, wouldn’t be strange in itself, but the vibes… the vibes! (Plus the fact that it was a 50-mile drive for Billy Bob.) I had a very bad feeling about that meeting. Fortunately, I must have said or done something wrong during our beer date, and Billy Bob never called or wrote again. I was 33; Billy Bob was forty.
I wonder if this is the midlife crisis everyone has been telling me about. And, if it is, then how come guys my age are getting hit? This makes no sense! We are young, dangit! Are we the next generation or not? Why, it was only yesterday that we got out of college! Um, wait a minute… we’re almost forty. Just like Billy Bob.
Now when did that happen?
And what’s next? Hot flashes? Kids taking our car keys away? Nursing homes?
Our generation is aging fast, and that is scary. Have we, at least, made a difference in the world? Do we still have enough time to go ahead and make the difference? And how? Does blogging count? (yeah, right!)
In case you’re wondering what triggered this post… something did. I don’t have the guts to talk about it on this blog, but, I’m worried. Okay, I’ll say it. I’m worried that I will lose a good buddy because he’s about to join the ranks of the available. I’m not happy with this “going on forty” thing. I just hope our generation manages to get through it in one piece.
After that, we’ll all be friends again.
