In all likelihood, your peer group had many fewer obligations 10 years ago than it did now. Fewer people with families. Fewer people in management positions. Th

In all likelihood, your peer group had many fewer obligations 10 years ago than it did now. Fewer people with families. Fewer people in management positions. They now have more obligations and less energy. And as people go along in their lives, they tend to have fewer and fewer strong bonds outside of the family, which they prioritize. That's normal. What isn't normal is how many people have their free time eaten up by non-hobbies. My dad's generation was certainly more handy with general repairs and carpentry than mine is. Fewer shared hobbies equals fewer shared experiences. A guy who you know nothing else about can still talk to you about the best way to install drywall. These are prompts for potential friendships that we no longer get nowadays. Back home in Louisiana, we primarily have three types of get-togethers. The first is a seafood boil, which usually happens in the spring and early summer months. Everyone takes turns paying for and hosting a feast for friends and family, and everyone in the family groups are invited. The kids do kid things, and the adults sit around and eat, drink, and be merry. The second type is festivals. These are community-wide events that all happen on different weekends, usually in the autumn. The Des Allemands Catfish Festival will be scheduled on a different weekend than the Luling Alligator Festival, which will also be on a different weekend than the Destrehan Fall Festival. Most of the same people show up to these festivals, so you can always run into and enjoy the company of someone you know. The third type is Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras isn't a day as much as it is a season. While the media tends to focus on the drinking and debauchery that occurs on Bourbon Street, the vast majority of these parades are small community organizations that just want to give everyone a good time. If you're on a float, you're having a party. If you're catching beads, you're also having a good time with your community. People will schedule the time and location they're gonna be at the parades and be there to have a few beers and catch a few beads. There's even an entire hobby that revolves around the collectible memorabilia from those parades. So... congratulations. You've made it to older age.