Once again thank you for you thoughtful comments. Because I slipped into a very bad depression I lost many contacts. Recently I contacted an old friend via email. I was hoping to arrange a face-to-face meeting but they didn't offer it. I wrote them another email and somehow that did the trick. So we are having lunch this coming Sunday, weather permitting as in no snowstorms, as the friend lives an hour from me. This is the first "social contact" I have initiated in 2 years, so I guess it is a big event. I chose someone who is very sensitive and gentle. They have known severe depression. It is only one event but I think a small step in the right direction.

I don't have family nearby so everything is about emails, facebooks, and texts. People don't even bother to use the phone anymore.

My new job is affording a lot of contact with other people, but my life outside of work is still pretty empty.