I'd like to point out that you probably weren't even born that year. It is also almost a sure bet that my longest romantic affair lasted at least twice as long as anything you've ever been involved in. I've also probably had a great deal more of them than you. But please, don't let that prevent you from lecturing me. It's sort of amusing.
I think I finally figured out why you seem so clueless about some things I bring up. You probably think the entire world is like a university, where 98% of the people you meet every day fit these criteria:
- within 4 years of your age
- single
- from at least a remotely similar socio-economic background,
- have similar education, and
- none are married.
Moreover, you see the same people every day, or at least every week when you go to class.
Not one of those things is generally true outside school. Not one.
Say you are out in the real world. First off, half the population is over the age of 60 or under the age of 20. Half of them have never been to college. The only people you run into regularly are those you work with, and that is Absolutely Verboten. People do it all the time, but people also have unprotected sex with relative strangers fairly often, too. If anything goes wrong, you just hosed your career.
On average, you might run into someone not married, from the same general background, not from work and otherwise a possible fit about once a week. It usually happens somewhere like the supermarket.
Now, assume you approach this person just like everyone else and have a nice chat. You put no particular effort into flirting with them. Do you get a phone number? Certainly not if you just treat them like everyone else. You wouldn't ask a guy behind you for HIS phone number, so why would you ask her if you treated her just like everyone else?
Newsflash: the odds are you will never see that person again. You cannot pick up where you left off and let things evolve "naturally". Real life does not work that way. If you don't have a phone number after the five minutes you spend discussing the papers on the checkout line, it's over. (Note: I've never gotten a phone number in a situation like that, nor have I ever asked.)
Surprisingly enough, she knows this too. It's funny how that works, isn't it? The moment you say anything at all, you're "flirting". If you aren't, she probably is. You can either play along or walk away. Those are your options.
Now, the ONE place you can go which, like a college campus, is likely to be filled with singles of approximately the right age (even if the match isn't nearly as close) is a singles bar. I've never frequented them, but I imagine they are even more artificial than the checkout line. People go to them with the expressed intent of flirting. I expect that's about all your going to get in one of them.
You could, of course, join a poetry group, take pottery classes, or do something of that nature. At least there is an excuse other than flirting to deal with other people, even if the age range and marital status isn't going to be all that great. But you know what? The only difference from the checkout line is that you'll see the same people repeatedly. Otherwise it's exactly the same: the instant assumption is that if you look like a possible match, that's the primary reason you're talking to her instead of someone else in the class.
So, you see, your solution of "just talking to them and waiting for something to happen" isn't going to work very well outside a campus. You will never see them again, and therefore nothing will ever happen. You can certainly try that approach by frequenting a bar or similar venue, but you aren't going to be "just talking to them". Such places are not conducive to that, not at all.
[edited to add] There's a few other people here around my age. Ask one of them. There
are other options I didn't cover (e.g., cocktail parties, weddings, funerals, etc.), but the trick to most of those things is you're supposed to bring a date or spouse. No matter who you hit on there, you're hitting on someone else's date. It's considered exceptionally poor form, and you are unlikely to be invited back.
You probably just waited too long and their husband had returned to the room before you got a chance to explore it further. 
We have different ideas about courtship where I come from. 
although my girlfriend very attractive too. 
