I see these twenty-two year old waitress and barista types in my world frequently. I think about that former cashier at that grocery store I patronize and what it took for me to finally approach her for social reasons. My deal with her went on for almost three years before I invited her to my comic book sale, at her job, in front of God and everyone. I tried every which way to just let her go and move on, several times, before I wound up just-balls out walking up to her as she worked her busy shift and invited her to my sale. I could not have done better at that if I had a hundred more chances to do so. And still, she didn't come to my sale and she didn't seem to want to talk to me at all after I approached her.
I think about her as I interact with these hottie types in my world, and my take on that whole episode just demonstrated a real raising of the bar on my part as to what it would take for me to stop everything and approach someone so much younger than I am. In the days of the early 2010's, at one of those coffee shops, I'd approach those baristas right and left for social reasons. They really didn't like it, and the cruel games they played with me demonstrated their displeasure at my overtures toward them.
I think I came off so much better towards that cashier and those around us than I did toward those baristas of the prior decade. And yet, nothing. That really makes me think twice, and three and four times, about approaching anyone else that much younger than me under those circumstances these days. Maybe I should thank that cashier for rejecting me, because I really have no desire to approach anyone her age in my world at all at this time. The thought of putting myself out there to that extent, even doing as well as I did at it in the case of that cashier, only to come up empty handed, really doesn't appeal to me at all.