Well, good luck with the meetup. You have to keep trying. As far as telling the truth about where I have been and what I have been doing...I don't know why I worried about that. I have been out of graduate school for more than a few years. I have basically wasted the last 3 or 4 years of my life. My sister was dying, and I had a weird abusive relationship that took a lot of effort to get out of. It was really these two things that destabilized me, and neither one is something I want to talk about with anyone. In truth, when you go out and meet with people if you ask them about themselves you are off the hook, right? Because other people like to talk about themselves, their family, children, spouses, vacations, and so forth. If they are older they like to talk about their aches and pains. Well, now you know why I enjoyed the horses so much. They look at you with their big eyes and without saying any words you can have a conversation with them. I am also convinced that horses know when you are depressed, and they will be very gentle and nuzzle you and breathe on you with their warm breath.

But I understand what you said about getting out and having relationships with people. Because people always say get out, go here, there, everywhere there are people, and that is just crowds. I think you have to find some interests in common with others and build from there. Even then many friendships just burst like so many soap bubbles. But it does kind of irk me when people say get out, get out, just get out, Sometimes being in crowds of people causes me to feel lonelier. The small special interest group might be the best way to start, do you agree?