Wanted: A New Best Friend

Six months in, life in Reno is going surprisingly well. Admittedly, I don’t like the cold, but I knew that from the proverbial get-go. But after months of contractor and supply chain delays, the house is finally shaping up. Handsome Hubby is enjoying spending time with old friends. We’re healthy. Work is good. Still, I’m lonely. I don’t have an RBF — a Reno best friend.

I know these things take time, and best friends, like wine, sourdough bread, yogurt, and yeast, must age, marinate, and rise.

Wanted: New Best Friend

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m reconnecting with old friends from decades ago when I lived and worked in nearby Carson City, and I’m making new friends. I also have an “almost” niece (the daughter of my deceased beloved best friend/”almost” sister Shannon) plus her wonderful wife and their family.

And I also cherish my best friends, Laura in NYC and Rachelle in Berkeley. But I need somebody local to spill the beans with over a cup of coffee beans on a bad day when the blasted frigid winds here chill my middle-aged arthritic bones until I can barely bend!

So, I’ve decided to take out an ad in the local newspaper to find my Reno pal-about-town.

Wanted: Reno Bestie

Gender:  Female, Male, Non-binary, No Matter

Age: Old Enough to Vote — and Does!

New Best Friend Requirements

Now, while I don’t care about the gender or age of my future and forever Reno bestie, I do have very specific requirements in terms of interests.

My bestie has got to love reading, of course. But no romance novels and they must go easy on the self-help books. At the same time, I don’t want a bestie who’s a super nerd and who’s too deep into science and technology. If I want to talk tech and climate change, I’ve got Handsome Hubby.

And in terms of films and television tastes, I prefer a bestie who’s into foreign flicks, light comedy, and non-violent slow-moving films. Again, if I want to watch action flicks until my eyeballs bleed featuring Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger, I’ve got Handsome Hubby to do that with … again and again and again.

Maybe a Broadway Baby

Of course, if an applicant responding to my ad is a theater-a-holic … Well, honestly, that individual would have a leg up on the competition!

I can only imagine the hours we would spend comparing our all-time “top 10” or 20 favorite Broadway musicals and dramas, our favorite theatres, preferred leads for “A Little Night Music” — Glynis Johns, no contest! — and engaging non-stop in related essential show gossip.

The “Catch”

Of course, the problem with a “new” best bestie, even if she or he is fantastic, is they are “new” and the learning curve is steep. How do you cram a lifetime of family history, joys, and pains, “in” jokes, and personal quirks into a new friendship?

And, conversely, given my addled middle-aged memory, how will I retain all that information about my new bestie? It will be an uphill battle.

But ultimately, it will be in that shared battle to remember information, my new friend and I will likely forge our newfound alliance and move forward together graciously and humorously, albeit a bit achily toward our new status as almost-oldsters in chilly, windy, snowy Reno, NV.

The Search Begins

So, hurry, Reno-ites. Apply now. Interviews have already begun. The competition is lively and charming. (And even non-theater-a-holics may apply!)