How one man learned how to beat loneliness and isolation by giving his number to the whole world

July 12, 2012 - PRLog -- Meeting new people after a break-up can be a daunting process, even in a busy city like New York. That's the situation Jeff Ragsdale, a New York actor and comedian, found himself after his girlfriend left him.

"New York is a terribly difficult place to meet people," he wrote. "I was isolated. I wanted to talk to as many people as I could, but not through a keyboard."

So he posted flyers all around Manhatten, with the following simple words on them:
"If anyone wants to talk about anything, call me (347) 469-3173.
Jeff, one lonely guy."

He expected a few calls. Instead, he got a hundred calls and texts on the first day, and then, when it went viral on the web, he received calls and texts from all over the world. To date, he's received over 70,000 calls and texts.

No-one could say Jeff is feeling lonely anymore: he has had a few dates and met quite a few new friends as a result. Not content with this success, he's written a book, made up of texts and transcriptions of some of the calls he received, interspersed with comments and commentary of his own, about his life.

It's a fascinating and uplifting read, documenting the full range of human existence, some negative and dark, but predominently a positive reaction from the world to Jeff's situation, and one in which he demonstrates his willingness just to listen to others who, like him, have a need to stop being lonely.

As one respondant said to Jeff: "You can be lonely in the desert or at Times Square." Jeff's experience has shown there are ways to reach out to others and stop the loneliness.

To read more, see Jeff's book, Jeff, One Lonely Guy:
http://www.squidoo.com/jeff-ragsdale-jeff-one-lonely-guy