Want more friends? A better social life? Be like my 85-year-old buddy Gerry

Friendship falters due to the belief it should just happen on its own. The solution: make a conscious effort to be social

I have a friend named Gerry. I didn’t have much choice about being Gerry’s friend. If Gerry decides you’re going to be his friend, you don’t have much choice about it. He calls. He invites. He emails. If you don’t answer, if you can’t make it, if you make plans and then cancel, he doesn’t care. He keeps calling. He keeps inviting. He keeps emailing. The man is relentless in his mission to connect.

And guess what? Gerry has a lot of friends.