LOLs

No, LOL in this case, is not laughing-out-loud; it is lonely-old-ladies. There must be thousands, nay, millions of these around the world. They cope. Women, historically, do things to cope. It might be going to the local Senior Citizens Centre to mingle. It could be a lady's group such as book clubs or quilt making or weight loss gyms, but they all end up with some kind of conversation to do with the lack of "good" men for the finding. Or simply men, period. Women in their sixth decade or beyond, are, by all public accounts, termed "elderly" whether or not, they sky dive, surf board or climb mountains in their spare time. When "elderly" happens to one, it's always a surprise. You dress in silks, wear a spritz of perfume, put on make-up and behave sweetly, but one day, you are "older" which starts somewhere around fifty, and the next thing you know, suddenly, you are "elderly". I don't know about you but "elderly" to me means a person who is kind of incompetent or pushing 100. Statistically, there are more older women than men. Quite simple. Men die earlier. One day you are married and have someone to share your life with, and the next, you are sitting alone in a very silent living room by yourself night after night with a book or the television or computer as your near and dear. There are some ways to meet a man but most of them are rather unpalatable. The on-line dating route is depressing. The camera isn't a good match-maker and the frequently unrealistic descriptions and requirements in the on-line blurbs, are misleading. I've done the coffee routine trying that route and it's not fun. What you saw in the photo,  is not what is sitting in front of you with something in its teeth and tissue still in its beard. As to suddenly meeting Mr. Right (with apologies to those who make other choices), it doesn't happen like in the movies where you turn the corner at the cereal aisle or in the deli, and there he is. The generation that hies from the fifties and sixties, the ones currently known as "elderly", aren't prone to being forward about going forward. And, being "set up" by dear friends who want to see you connected in some way to their relative or pal, can also be disastrous. If you don't click with their suggestion, someone is going to be offended. That choice leaves you  to make a Dear John phone call or e mail, stating that the most you and said suggestion or recommendation can ever be, is friends. And everyone knows what "friends" means. Being an LOL is a difficult matter to solve, therefore, most of us simply give up and tell everyone how delighted we are to be independent, but we lie. We all have the hope that one day the perfect match will turn up somewhere, sometime and romance will blossom. Ah love eternal!