While looks may have their place in certain situations, in the end I'd find someone rather boring if that person is not also someone who can intelligently participate even if it's a short discussion. After all any enduring interest has to have something about us that makes us WANT to be in touch with. Personality, the deeper sense of comfort about who one is -- which often stems from basic curiosity about life, but also from an lifetime of experience where one develops both more interesting and meaningful interaction. After all if it's going to develop into something that you LIKE about the other person, for me it's got to be more than looks; it's personality. I think it is then that we can have what comes close to having a FRIEND.

That is a gem I'm looking for, in all my serious interactions; that is what people who have studied the loneliness epidemic we are in, can be addressed with: connections based on our authentic selves, where each connects with the other openly without fear or judgement. That is what would make my life wonderful as a member of the larger community. I seek it out each day -- it matters little that I am an octogenarian.