I’m at Home Depot yesterday and I see two guys walking toward me. One has his eyes fixed one me but not in a pleasant way. You could tell they were both working and only there to pick up materials in the middle of the day. He stops me and says “I know who you are.” He turns to his friend and proceeds to tell him what I do only to look back at me still unhappy. He then holds up both his hands palms facing me and says
“look at these hands, look at them!”
His hands were strong, callused with deep dark lines that you could tell had been used for decades as tools of his trade. I noticed his face had wrinkles that were so deep that only years of sun damage can do. His next words blew me away.
“why can’t I find someone that appreciates how hard I work?“
I grabbed his hands and held on to them. Looked him dead in the eye and said “what else can these hands do?” He stumbled a little and then said “I can build houses.” I replied “what else?” “I can build kitchens, from scratch, cabinets, bathroom, I can build anything.” I then gentle squeezed his hands and repeated my question. “what else can these hands do?” He looked down at his hands. I could finally see his face relax, he took a deep breath and he looked back up with a soft smile and said “they can hold someone.”
“Yes!” I replied “Yes, they can.” He then opened up and said that in his previous relationship she always complained about how much he worked. He felt unappreciated everyday up to the day she left, three years ago. He hasn’t been on a single date since. For three years he has blamed all women for what one woman did to him. In the three years being alone he forgot what else his hands are made for.
In our busy lives we forget that we need human interaction. Face to face, not on social media. We require it as social animals. Loneliness is becoming an epidemic in United States and this is why I created Offline Connections. We need to talk more in our community, to the person at the check out line. Talk about how the weather man is always wrong and hold the door open for someone. Stop going through the drive-thru go inside! Maybe the love of your life is in there wearing our LOGO!
How are you going to find LOVE if you’re not looking. And please leave your past in the past my friends.
Faithfully,
Rita Jane
P.S. If you see a hard working man with worn hands wearing the Offline Logo, his name is Jon. Please say hello 😉
