Help for a lonley old man please?

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Aura
Posts: 412
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:23 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by Aura »

I wonder if anyone could help me with a problem? I am a friend with a 79 year old called Wilfred and I have a lot of respect for him, four other of my other mates are friends with him as well; but he is driving us to distraction. I have known him for five years; one of my friends (Dawn) was very close to him until her death in a fatal car accident in 1999. She died a month after she got married, but when she was single Wilfred tried to have an affair with her; she was flirty from what I am told but not interested. She met her future husband after they lost contact for a number of years, and Wilfred apparently rang her up and told her she was seeing too much of him, and to give it up! :mad:

Anyway. I came to meet him because he was in the same social group as my other friend Barbara, whom he was having a fling with. She in her thirties, and flirts with anything in trousers anyway. I see him on Thursday evenings and he stays the odd weekend when it’s too late for him to catch his bus back to his village after a social event by our group. But he is becoming a pain in the rear at the moment, he’s a bit possessive and he wants to meet up with us all the time. He lives on his own and he is strangling our friendship because he is not letting us have any breathing space at all. We have tried talking to him to say we have our own lives to lead, and that he should be hanging round with other people his own age but he keeps ignoring it, and has an attitude which is stupid. He once shouted at one of us in a public place that didn’t go down too well, he never apologised for that; only when I demanded he did.

He say’s he’s young at heart, but when he insisted that he wanted to go round the fair with some of us, he moaned that it was too loud which I something I don’t understand, because he’s going deaf! I often have to shout and repeat myself to make myself heard. I have my eye’s on a bloke and I said I would do him something to eat before we went out to play darts, Wilfred plays in the team as well and says ‘so your cooking for the three of us then?’ I DON’T THINK SO! I think it’s bloody cheeky that Wilf invites himself along, and also cramps my style, because I don’t want to put this guy off by making him think I prefer old age pensioners to younger men. Wilfred is also irritated with us because we haven’t invited him out on a ‘Girls night out’. It’s like he wants to keep an eye on us all the time, he even copies what we buy and what things we sign up to in the social group, even through he’s not bloody interested.

Many thanks and apologies for bringing this up. Has anyone else had this problem? :-5
Patsy Warnick
Posts: 4567
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2006 12:53 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by Patsy Warnick »

It's tough situation - the older gentlemen needs the company and attention.

He hears what he wants to hear - he's not deaf - the louder you yell the more others notice your with him etc.. (attention thing).. I'm not sure I understand why he's around you as often other than with the dart team.?? When it comes to another dart team select another team or pub, without this gentlemen.

You don't need to tell or explain everything , be civil and pleasant, but start to distant yourself now. As suggested - is there a female his age who could occupy his time?? Pay the female to occupy his time..!!!

Good luck

Patsy
Bubblegum
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:16 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by Bubblegum »

Hi Aura, nice to meet you. This is a really difficult one as firstly you are caring enough to include Wilfred within your group of friends but he abuses that friendship and secondly as you said he is a very lonely old gent.

When someone is seventy nine and alone perhaps their age is more apparent to them than if they were with a partner and it could be playing on his mind that this is his last chance at having friends and having some fun in his life. In his eyes he has found a group of people who are willing to be his friend and maybe he is a bit scared to lose the only people that he does have left in his life.

Also, at seventy nine he could, perhaps, be starting to become affected by the aging process and the effects of aging could be marring his social skills somewhat. I know a gent in his seventies who has recently started to act up to females to the extent that it makes them feel uncomfortable and this is totally out of character for him, and he is married! His wife has noticed other changes in him too that are linked with aging.

Some men though do seem to enjoy the initial attention of females in a harmless flirting kind of way but can take it too far thinking that they can get away with it just because of their age. If in the beginning of your friendship Wilfred’s attentions were treated as ‘fun’ then he could still be playing up to this thinking that nothing has changed and not suspect that it has now become tedious. Alternatively he may just sense the friction between you now and be very scared of losing you all and being on his own again and maybe what you are experiencing are the acts of a very scared, aging man trying to cling onto his friends and his life; going to the fair with you when this is clearly something he would not usually want to do could indicate this.

Perhaps when he invited himself along for a meal with you and the other man you could have said ‘not this time Wilfred but another time yes’. When alone with Wilfred you could have explained to him that you were interested in this man and that is why you wanted to be alone with the man on that occasion.

By confiding in Wilfred more about things like for example how you felt about the other man will make Wilfred still feel wanted as a friend and make him feel that he has more of a purpose within the group which can only be a good thing for him. He needs to have a defined role if you like so that he does not feel like a spare part. Include him on days/nights out but make it clear to him where and when he is invited and that way he will know that he is still wanted as part of the group of friends and will not have to act so desperately to try to keep you all.

For a kick off perhaps you could invite him to dinner as a friend and confide in him and at the same time tell him how glad you are to have a friend like him to confide in and that it is nice to gain a male perspective on certain things. If he feels needed and still a part of the group he will start to feel more at ease and will become less clingy. Once he feels more confident he may just start to ask your advise about the ladies and may want to start to see someone his own age in a romantic capacity. He will also see that not all of the friends do all go out together all of the time confirming to him that he is not deliberately being excluded.

Good luck x
RedGlitter
Posts: 15777
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:51 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by RedGlitter »

Hi Bubblegum- that sounds like excellent advice!!

I looked at this thread a few times today and for the life of me, couldn't think of anything helpful. I think you nailed it. :)
Bubblegum
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:16 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by Bubblegum »

RedGlitter wrote: Hi Bubblegum- that sounds like excellent advice!!

I looked at this thread a few times today and for the life of me, couldn't think of anything helpful. I think you nailed it. :)


Hi RedGlitter, aww thank you, that's a lovely thing to say :-6
Aura
Posts: 412
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:23 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by Aura »

Any chance of fixing him up with a lady closer to his own age?




Tried but he's not intrested.

Greetings bubblegum:)

Thanks for your input. I am sure he is worried about loosing our friendship, at the moment he's stranguling it. My uncle has lukemia and I see a lot of him now, Wilf doesn't understand that and thinks I should be putting him first before family which is really (scuse my language) pissing me off!

Wilf has an eye for younger woman and I think that's disgusting, he should go chasing after woman his own age. :thinking:
Bubblegum
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:16 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by Bubblegum »

Aura wrote: Greetings bubblegum:)

Thanks for your input. I am sure he is worried about loosing our friendship, at the moment he's stranguling it. My uncle has lukemia and I see a lot of him now, Wilf doesn't understand that and thinks I should be putting him first before family which is really (scuse my language) pissing me off!

Wilf has an eye for younger woman and I think that's disgusting, he should go chasing after woman his own age. :thinking:


Bit of a wide boy is he! Sounds like he’s pushing his luck and if he has never been led on, even jokingly, then he needs to be told fairly yet resolutely that neither you nor your friends are interested in him romantically just in case he has his eye on you and is jealous of your affection for anyone else, even family!

Maybe you and your friends need to speak to Wilfred about how he is hurting your feelings and acting inappropriately but on a one to one basis so that he does not feel ganged up on and hopefully he will get the message once he understands that all of his friends feel exactly the same way.

Once you have tried these things to help him fit in more and he still chooses to ignore you then you will have to get tough with him and tell him that if his unacceptable behaviour does not improve drastically then you will have to refrain from asking him out with you all as a friend and stop him from staying over at your place. Let him know that all you will be to each other is members of the same group and that you will not mix socially. Ensure though that you make it very clear to him just what behaviour it is you do not like and what behaviour you do like explaining that in order to have a friend you need to be one and that the way he is currently acting is not very friendly.

Would it perhaps hit home more if he were to see the effects of his behaviour in black and white? Perhaps then you could print out your post and all of the replies and show it to him; it could be enough to shock him enough to change his ways.

Failing that, you will have to accept that you have all tried everything you can think of to improve the situation and just omit him from your social life. It would be a shame if it were to come to this though and if it were me I would show him this thread if a one to one with him outlining all of my concerns did not work. Sometimes though you really can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

My very best wishes to your Uncle. x
Aura
Posts: 412
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:23 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by Aura »

am seeing him in the dart's team on Tuesday. if he start's moaning then I will completely ignore him, which is a shame as I shouldn't have too. Me and my friend Jen are going to try and talk to him on Wednesday if he stubbornly (because he is stubborn) won't listen, then we are going to have to cut him off. :yh_eyebro
Bubblegum
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:16 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by Bubblegum »

Aura wrote: am seeing him in the dart's team on Tuesday. if he start's moaning then I will completely ignore him, which is a shame as I shouldn't have too. Me and my friend Jen are going to try and talk to him on Wednesday if he stubbornly (because he is stubborn) won't listen, then we are going to have to cut him off. :yh_eyebro


Fingers crossed all goes well.
RedGlitter
Posts: 15777
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:51 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by RedGlitter »

Good luck, Aura. :)



I definitely vote for talking to him. It is not easy being in that position but sometimes it helps if you just sort the person out in a respectful and honest manner. You know, tell them how you see it.
Aura
Posts: 412
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:23 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by Aura »

We have had a word and all seems ok. I just have to be a bit firm with him.
Bubblegum
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:16 am

Help for a lonley old man please?

Post by Bubblegum »

Aura wrote: We have had a word and all seems ok. I just have to be a bit firm with him.


That's wonderful Aura, I'm glad it all worked out ok :-6
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