Keep Calling, He Said, “That’s What People Love About You.”

Friday night arrives 52 times a year and I am growing used to a familiar unpleasant sensation. Maybe this happens to you, too. As the clock ticks toward the end of the workday, I glance up, and think about whether I’ve made any plans. Something makes me feel as if I should have made plans but usually, I haven’t.

So the clock ticks on, and once again, it is me alone who phones up my friends, and asks them the same question. What are you doing tonight? Why me? Why don’t they ask me the same question? Why is it that every week, they are the ones who tell me, no, I’m busy, or sorry, I”m out of town. Or sometimes, they say yes let’s meet. I think my track record is about 1 in 5.

The same thing happens to me every time I want to play poker. For some reason, over the past eight years that these same guys and I have played a monthly game, it’s me and only me who makes the date. Only I seem to have the ability to email them all, set the date, and then remind them via text message when I am not sure they’re all on their way. Why do I do this? If I didn’t do this, would we ever play poker?

Why are some of us that way? I posed this question, frustrated, on Facebook and I got some replies. One was from a dear cousin, who said I should keep calling. “Keep on calling them,” he said. “You are an outgoing person and that’s what people love about you!” Sigh.