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I’m single, turned 60 this year and still fairly active with in-line skating in summer and hardboot snowboarding in winter so I thought perhaps I should get out and meet new people. Talked to the neighbors; a nice retired couple. They suggested the ‘55 Plus Centre’ so I visited the centre.
“Are there any snowboarders here?”
“No, but some of our members grandkids are doing that.”
“Ok, any in-line skaters – you know, roller-bladers?”
No, but somebody else’s grandkids do that.
“How about bloggers? We could discuss weblog design.”
“What’s a weblog?”
Score: zero out of three. I wasn’t having much luck but I pressed onward …
“Anybody here on Facebook?”
No, but they’ve heard of it.
Still no luck, so I tried a more general question …
“So, what do you do for fun here?”
“Crib.”
“Say what?”
“Cribbage. It’s a card game.”
Having once been addicted to Bridge, I try to avoid card games so I finished my coffee and said goodbye. Maybe try again if I make it to 70.
A while ago a friend dragged me out shopping. We ended up in a lingerie store. Perhaps she thought I’d be embarrassed but I had a great time talking with the sales girls about frilly things and chatting up the other customers. Actually, I was the only male in the store so it’s probably a great place to meet girls. However, it would look pretty suspicious if I started hanging around lingerie stores.
I’ve thought about that on-line dating thing but at my age, I’d probably get the same cribbage crowd. I suppose I could lie and say I’m 90 and perhaps meet a few interesting gold-diggers. Hey, it worked for Hugh Hefner! What’s he got that I don’t besides fame and money?
So, if you have any ideas where to meet new people with interests similar to mine i.e. blogging, hard-boot snowboarding, roller-blading; leave a comment.
Gerold
December 14, 2011
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Gerold's Blog 
I see this is an old post, but you are at the wrong old folks club. You should come to mine. We meet every Wednesday morning, and if you popped in at 11:30 we would look fairly normal. People from 50 to 92 years of age chatting and drinking tea and eating biscuits. Thing is, we actually meet at 9:30 for our weekly group run. I usually run with Christine, who is training for a marathon to celebrate her 70th birthday. She’s done a few in the past, maybe 30 or so. Ron also runs with us. He gave up doing marathons last year, aged 85. Still, he hopes to enter the masters games this year in the 5 and 10km events.
We even have ultra runners amongst our younger members, the 50-65 year old crew.
The moral? Pick your old folks club carefully!
PS thanks for all the info on your site. As a disaster survivor I had my eyes opened in a hurry. I thought I was well prepared…and I was by most peoples standards. Thing is I didn’t take into consideration I would be feeding them too……
Thanks for the suggestion, Katie. You’re right, I should be more selective in choosing a club.
Looks like I may have to wait a couple years to retire before I can make your Wednesday morning meetings. What’s the name of your club?
Also, you’re right about disaster survivors feeding others as well. That’s why I encourage stockpiling extras. Anyone with a heart will likely end up helping others unable to fend for themselves.
– Gerold