Admittedly, I have sent mixed messages--subliminal, perhaps-
in my previous post about life as a "single". I guess I didn't express myself very well--not too shocking there.
Even my responses to comments were vague and unconvincing.

I'm not complaining about being/living solo (more on that below). I'm simply saying we get no respect or attention. We are ignored as a category of people in our society. We don't count. It is assumed that all activities are done with a partner or family. Not so. Ask us singles.

Example: I am going to see a Civic Theater play tonight that my sister (Barbara) is performing in. My Dad doesn't want to go, my other sister (Carole) is going with her girlfriend tomorrow. Guess what? I'm going alone! But that's okay! When I went to buy my ticket, the lady asked in surprise, "Just one?". Yes, m'am, JUST one.
I'll be sitting next to others, possibly people I know. I'll socialize, laugh and smile, and be pleasant. I'll enjoy myself. But I'm still by myself. I'm alone, but not lonely.

I don't get "lonely", as if that's a disease. Living or doing things alone doesn't mean I don't enjoy my lifestyle.
I was married many years (25), and lived with my sister for 6 months (last year). Now, I can cough in the night without fear of waking up anybody. I can fart out loud. I can drink milk out of my cereal bowl. I can play piano without worrying about missed notes. I can watch or listen to what I want on the TV or radio. I can yell profanities. I can leave the house without explaining where I'm going and when I'll return. I don't have to justify ANYTHING!: excess time on the computer, exercise routine, foods I consume, not shaving. I can go to Florida, Utah, Vermont, Hawaii, anytime I want.

Yes, I have obligations. But the bottom line is I LOVE THE SOLITAIRE LIFE! I don't want or need "close" friends. I'm happy with the way things are, and that's just the way things are and will remain. Maybe that's why we singles are "ignored" in society. We're viewed as anti-social isolationists, so we're left alone, pariahs of society.

As I have written before, when I was married, we were asked out or over all the time. In the 16 years of single life, I've never been asked to "come to dinner", never (well, a disasterous once) "fixed up" on a date. I've asked many women out, but have always been shot down. (No wonder I'm "gun shy".)

Yes, men and women have different needs and desires (as both married and single), but that's up to the professionals to analyze. I'm not interested in hitting the "bar scene". I live in a small community with few options to meet people. I don't care. And I don't mean to sound angry or uptight. It is what it is. All I'm saying is, short of waving a red flag wherever I go, I exist. I'm not to be ignored as an individual. And I don't want sympathy or to be pitied. I'm happy just the way I am--really!