So, I was thinking recently that I wouldn’t feel like such an outsider if I actually had some friends in town. As it is now, I find myself driving out of town to meet friends from work or places we’ve previously lived. This touches on two key issues. One is the fact that there is very little to actually do in Morris…. a subject for a future post.
The second and most pressing at this time is that there seems to be no way to break into the social scene in Morris. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be in the “in crowd”. I know and accept my limitations, at least as they pertain to my Morris Social Status Rating (aka. MSSR). However, it would be really nice to have friends in the neighborhood to get together with for summertime BBQs, a game of cards or dinner and drinks.
I’ve tried to make friends….chit chat at a ballgame, idle talk with a parent at a school event, etc. These end in two general catastrophes. 1) I realize I’ve unknowingly tried to talk with someone clearly out of my MSSR and find myself the subject of odd stares and behind-the-hand whispers by those in the know -- or 2) The object of my attempt at friendship, them self, has previously fallen to the spoils of catastrophe #1 and they’re too gun shy to continue the conversation, fearful that they may also be speaking to someone out of their MSSR.
I’m a college educated professional and haven’t had any trouble making friends up to this point, so I don’t believe I’m a social pariah. This dilemma really perplexes me. Maybe there should be a secret code word for those of us looking for local friends…something that identifies us as being open to accepting new people into our social circle. (Social circle of one, in my case, but open to expansion nonetheless.) I have to find an answer to the dilemma or I may find myself suddenly attending PTA meetings in yet another misguided attempt at making friends.
