When you're 38 and single, some activities become incredibly difficult. Not because you don't have the ability to do them, but because you don't have anyone to share them with. A good movie (few and far between these days), an uplifting concert, or a special program full of fun and laughter become just a little duller when you're alone.

Dateline: Lansing, MI. The event was Michigan Magic Day 2007. I had the distinct delight of spending a large part of the event in the company of my friend Joe B., whom I only see at this event. He and I critiqued the contests together, laughed at the lecturers together, and just plain chewed the fat for a day.

Okay, it was a pair of hamburgers and a mess of fries at Steak 'N Shake, but it still was lots of fun.

It's always good when you can get together with people that you like, and even though Joe is happily married with four children, I'm thankful for the friendship he offers me. Sharing Michigan Magic Day with him made the event much more enjoyable, and I want lots of people to know it. The alternative would have been to fight off feelings of depression while feeling all alone in a big crowd, and I don't like doing that.

Thanks, Joe. See you next year.

Carrie