Edge City by Terry and Patty LaBan for June 24, 2023

Familiarity breeds contempt.

Start where every parent starts. “We have 2 kids, Colin and Carly, Colin is X years old, Carly is X years old, do you have children?”

Oh, glancing at his watch is BAD.

Nobody I know is interested in what I am interested in. Talking points are difficult.

I’ve found this is usually what happens when you try and force a friendship, even when done with good intentions.

In actuality, you have nothing in common other than a demographic.

I honestly don’t see the point of this whole “friend-finding” endeavor. It’s not like they just moved to a new area where neither they nor their kids know anyone at all. I mean, I can imagine a point, such as needing more people to take part in group activities that they want to get involved in: more people to play cards with, or line dance, or put on amateur theatricals, or organize softball teams, for instance. But there doesn’t seem to be any reason for Abby and Len to be in quest of new friends (as opposed to possible new clients), except to keep score of how many friends they have, or to have backup acquaintances to talk to in anticipation of their existing relationship(s) possibly falling apart. Do their existing relationships really seem that fragile?

It’s called trying too hard.

I once tried to start a conversation by asking a guy what he did for a living. He said he sharpened blades. I could not follow that with anything.