My friend, whom going forward I’ll simply refer to as Julius, also the person who initially helped me set up this blog space/website, says I need to start publishing or he won’t assist me with my future web operations needs. So here I go (BTW, Julius, typing/editing in WordPress on an iPad is a bee-otch)…

I recently met another friend, whom I’ll refer to as Eddie, for Happy Hour one evening. Eddie and I used to live together and hang out in college, and he and his family now live near my family in the Ballard neighborhood of  Seattle, although we hadn’t previously seen one-another more than once since college. Soon after we arrived at one of our favorite local brew pubs, he asked me, “Who do you hang out with these days?”

I knew the question was coming (like in a job interview),  but the first words out of my mouth were something to the effect of “I don’t know.” I told him I’m lucky if I get together with a handful of my “best” friends, who currently reside in various parts of the country, more than once or twice a year. Guys nights out are becoming seemingly more infrequent, regardless of whether they occur with married or single friends. Even Julius recently moved away to California for business (and pleasure).

Eddie said he rarely sees anyone from his high school and our college days, and says he mostly hangs out with his family and neighbors on his block. I, too, hang out with a couple neighbors, but even that’s not more than monthly.  Who has time when family is commitment #1? Do I envy my single friends like Julius, Larry, and others? Sometimes I do, since they have more freedom, but probably not as much as I miss my youth. Don’t we all?

My thirtieth high school reunion (sigh) is coming up next month just down the road in Tacoma, and I’m certainly looking forward to catching up with at least a handful of people. Oh sure, some of them probably throw big bashes with lots of friends and neighbors, but even those probably aren’t more than a couple times per year. So now I’m reaching out to those whom I haven’t seen in some time and making more of a concerted effort to get together.

Bottom line?  We’re not getting any younger, and watching several senior citizens with their walkers on a daily basis makes me yearn for days gone by.  So Julius, I’m getting off my ass and writing. And who knows? Maybe I’ll even attempt some standup comedy again soon, too, although certainly nothing too funny about this post.

Next time, folks. Next time…and sooner than later.