DEAR ABBY: I wonder whether you may have missed the boat in your recent response to "Concerned Friend in Berkeley," who felt that an unmarried male friend was unhappy being the only unattached member of a group of friends made up of couples. You suggested that she discreetly seek to involve some single women in the group's activities and "let nature take its course."
However, reading between the lines of her description of her friend as "too shy to seek out a relationship, too proud to let his friends introduce him to a woman, and too private to discuss his feelings in depth," it sounds quite possible that he might in fact be gay, but deeply closeted (perhaps seeking to deny it even to himself).
One should not, of course, jump too hastily to such a conclusion, but neither should the very real possibility be overlooked. There are still many such people in this day of relative openness. -- JIM RICKETSON, RICHMOND, VA.
DEAR JIM: That's true. However, he could also be a person who enjoys being single, and feels no compulsion to bring a date if there's no one in whom he's particularly interested.