So you had a bad day...

A friend of mine had a bad day.

It seems hard to be single in your 40's. I mean, where do you meet people when you're in your 40's or beyond? I hadn't given this subject much thought until my friend confessed how lonely she was... then I started twisting it around in my mind.

Bars? Its seems like most singles at bars top out in their 30's. And then again, when is a bar ever a good place to meet your soul mate?

There's always the office, provided you work somewhere with a decent number of employees. But what about when it ends badly. My friend has tried this route and while it hasn't ended badly it has taken its toll with regards to the office gossip.

Take a class? Do single men really take dancing lessons? Cooking classes? What classes do men take? Seriously.

Where do any middle-aged, single people congregate? The park? The produce section at the grocery store?

All this thinking made me wonder why people didn't put more effort into staying together in the first place. It just seems like less work in the long run. I'm just saying...

Anyways, today someone stole my friend's catalytic converter off her car in the parking lot at work in broad day light. She called the police to come out and take a report. It will probably cost her about $500 to get it fixed. A friend from work offered to let her drive one of his cars while hers was repaired. My friend followed me to drop my boss's vehicle off at the shop (someone broke his window out at his house that morning). On the way back I remarked that I'd been meaning to stop by the new hotel by the office and check out the facilities. She said she could really use a beer.

She seemed so down that I decided to cancel my plans to workout at the gym and buy her a beer at the new hotel. We sat down and I bought us both a beer and I tried to think of topics to talk about that would cheer her up. Two guys sat down to her left and ordered drinks but they spent the entire time on their phones. Then a guy sat down to my right. The hotel manager came over to say hello and we were telling her about the catalytic theft and Mr. On My Right joined the conversation. We finished our beers and stood to leave. I turned to our new friend and started to say "It was nice chatting with..." when he winked at me. My friend turned at that moment and told him it was nice to meet him and we exited.

As we walked out, I told her that he winked at her. It seemed to cheer her up.

ps. Tomorrow's her birthday.