How to Make Friends as a Middle-Aged Man, Even if the Idea Makes You Feel Weird

I’m not supposed to have any friends. I’m middle-aged. I’m a man. I’m an only child. My general disposition is not what you’d call sunny.

And yet here they are, all around me. I have almost, oh, a dozen good friends — all acquired in the last few years. (“Acquired.” Men talk about friends like we talk about clients and armoires.)

How did this happen? I was never someone who really knew how to do friendship.