No friend have I. I must live by myself alone; but I know well that God is nearer to me than others in my art, so I will walk fearlessly with Him.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
I don't have any friends. This is a reality that I have recently come to accept. This is not because I made a choice to not have friends. It comes from the fact that I bounce the ball in that direction, and it never comes bouncing back. At some point, you just let the ball drop from your hand.
I am not alone in this observation. Others have pointed out that men don't have friends. They will have their wives and girlfriends. They will have their families. That's it.
For men, interaction with other men happens on the job. The other arena would be a saloon somewhere. There used to be bowling leagues and fraternal organizations, but these are in steep decline. Then, there is church. Most men have lost interest in religion today, so this outlet for friendship is closed to them.
I think not having friends is natural for men. This isn't a recent phenomenon but goes back in history. Men are loners by nature. Men share activities like work which is when they talk. Otherwise, they remain alone. I do not expect this to change.
Drinking buddies are not friends. I used to think they were friends, but they aren't. They are just bad influences and a good reason to give up drinking.
My advice to men is to get used to keeping your own company. Have a relationship with God and a good woman. Beyond that, you just have contacts.
UPDATE: I did some scrolling on this topic of the decline in male friendship on YouTube, and one YouTuber nailed it. He said that what men think of as friends are just drinking buddies. A drinking buddy is not really a friend. Drinking has fallen into decline, and male friendship has declined with it.
In my own life, I had more "friends" when I was drinking. We would go to the bar or have a few cold beers around a bonfire in the woods. I don't drink at all now. My last beer was over a decade ago when I developed gout. Gout made me a teetotaller. Then, the TBI sealed the deal for me forever.
I never had a drinking problem. I did have a friend problem. This is because all my friends were drinkers. Men seem unable to develop friendships without the social lubrication of alcohol. Because of the drinking, all of my buddies were lousy friends. I had to get them out of my life. At the end of the day, these fellows were just parasites who didn't want to drink alone.
