I find myself in a situation I never thought I would have to deal with again.

At almost 66 years of age, it is time for me to wade back into the dating pool.

My relationship of more than 25 years with my girlfriend ended abruptly with her death in July. I miss her every day, but I would like to find someone to go with me to dinner, watch a ballgame or movie or attend a concert.

Using a baseball analogy like a batter who has been sitting on the bench for too long I am finding it difficult to get my timing back.

Through the years I always had a three-strike rule in trying to date someone new. If the person I was asking had a previous engagement, which could happen, it was strike one. If I asked a second time and there were plans she could not change that was strike two. If on the third try she was unable to find time for me it was strike three and I was out.

On my first attempt this past week to seek a new relationship I was quickly thrown two strikes. On the baseball field I used to be a pretty good third strike hitter, but I am hesitant to attempt a third time.

Asking someone for a first date is never easy no matter what your age. During my college years and my 20s I didn’t hesitate to ask a woman out if I was interested in them.

During those times I was motivated to try based on an inscription in my high school yearbook my senior year at Central High School.

I had a crush on a young woman from the first time I saw her in the seventh grade. But I never dared to ask her out. The fear of her rejecting me would have been a heavy burden to bear.I n my yearbook, she wrote, “I would have loved to have had the opportunity to get to know you better, but since you never asked me out, I never got the chance”. Talk about crushing a crush.

From then on, I never let the fear of rejection stand in my way. I was also moved by this statement – “the saddest thing in life is a missed opportunity”. I first heard this said by Woody Allen in one of his films. It could be applied to almost any area of life where a person has hesitated but in this context he was talking about a relationship.

We all have to be moved out of our comfort zones from time to time. Despite my discouraging start, I am going to keep on trying. As songwriter Harry Nilsson wrote, “One is the loneliest number that you will ever do”. But he also adds “two can be as bad as one it’s the loneliest number since the number one”.

Looking on the bright side at least this year I don’t have the pressure of finding the perfect Valentine’s Day present.