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I’d like to talk a bit about relationships, love, and commitment. But first, I wanna be a bit geeky…

Several years back, I got a phone call from an older relative. He knew that I was good with computers and he hoped that I could help him resolve a problem with his computer over the phone. Apparently, someone else allegedly had downloaded something naughty and/or malicious and it was causing problems. I couldn’t see what he was looking at, and, due to his technical ignorance, he wasn’t able to articulate to me what he was seeing, let alone the actual problem. After several minutes of frustration on both ends of the phone, I was able to walk him through shutting down the computer and then starting it back up. He had no clue what he was doing but I could hear the computer making the shutdown and startup sounds so I know he was pressing the right buttons even if he didn’t. Once the computer was started up again, I knew that there were no other programs running so I had a better idea of what he was looking at. I paused, took a deep breath, and asked again “What do you need me to help you do, exactly?” To this he said – clearly for the first time – “I just need help turning the computer off.” I laughed out loud and then walked him through the first half of the procedure we had just walked through. He informed me that the screen was blank and that the box wasn’t making any more noises, but he wasn’t sure if it was actually off or not. I assured him that it was. He was very grateful for my help.

I share this story just to say that we all have different levels of aptitude and experience when it comes to computers. Some people use computers only when absolutely necessary. Others have developed a sort of relationship with their computers. Countless nerds, myself included, actually name our computers.
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Below is a monologue from “The Ten Commandments” (1956) staring Charlton Heston. The monologue itself is spoken by Sephora, which is whom Moses chooses for his wife from among seven sisters. She uses “we”, “us” and “our” repeatedly to compare her sisters to the Egyptian women who wear makeup and fancy jewelry and don’t have to labor in the fields. Even though Sephora’s sisters threw themselves at Moses and she did not, he chose her. I’d like to think that if I were in the same situation I would choose her too. I do not pretend that outer beauty doesn’t interest me but it’s what’s inside that captures my heart. It’s the spirit of a person that speaks to me. I like to peer into a person’s soul through their words and through their eyes.

Since a woman speaks the words below, a more appropriate title for this blog would be “Woman Seeking Man”. In any case if I were a 2000 B.C. tent maker or something like that I’d likely respond to a singles ad that read something like this:

“A jewel has brilliant fire, but it gives no warmth.
Our hands are not so soft, but they can serve.
Our bodies not so white, but they are strong.
Our lips are not perfumed, but they speak the truth.
Love is not an art to us. It’s life to us.
We are not dressed in gold and fine linen. Strength and honor are our clothing.
Our tents are not the columned halls of Egypt, but our children play happily before them.
We can offer you little… but we offer all we have.”