Where are All the Girls at?

Why have you not dated, Sammy? I'm sure [there have been some girls] who were charmed by you. Was there just no one good enough?

I like to think I can provide friends with answers to anything they ask of me, especially when the request is of a personal nature. This question, received from a dear friend shortly before Yom Kippur, had me stumped. And it was of little consolation that I have asked myself the same question on Yom Kippur for the last several years.

Some emendations are in order. I have dated, if only once (a three week romance by telephone, for all its magic, does not count). And I have wanted to date a half-dozen other times. So I am fairly well versed in learning to live with rejection.

But the question is what it is. And despite the best of intentions, here I am: On the brink of Yom Kippur, with the past year good for little more than memories, and not only will I again be asking myself this question, now even my friends are expecting a response!

Postscript
This note is not dedicated to my parents. Nevertheless they surely are awaiting an answer with far more anticipation than anyone else. So when it comes, I will make sure to dedicate that note to them!