So Damn Lonely

By Rick Leddy

The great thing about being alone is that you can be yourself.
- Stephen Fry
Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.
- Marcus Aurelius
Cold Pasta
Great. So I got alone, properly, gloriously alone, the way the internet keeps promising, and my authentic self turned out to want cold pasta and a show I've already seen twice.
If that's the real me, Stephen, I was hoping for a better one.
Nobody watched me eat it standing over the sink like a raccoon. Nobody needed me to have an opinion about it. And it was the most honest I'd been all day.
How am I supposed to be myself when myself is the one thing I've been trying so hard to leave behind?
Easy for you, Marcus. You were an emperor. Palace, servants, an entire empire to please you while you philosophized.
My soul on this Tuesday night isn't an untroubled retreat. It's the leftovers of a date that went nowhere and a work group chat where everyone's dreading getting fired.
I tried it your way. Sat still. Left the phone in the other room, which felt stupid.
Around minute four, something did go quiet.
I dozed off.
The phone rings. The screen flashes SPAM.
But where I am right now, even someone trying to sell me a new window makes my night.

So Damn Lonely by Just A. Guy. What's your tally?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1938591526
• ISBN13: 9781938591525
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Sole Books
• Length: 86 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.5" x 8.5"