Customer Service Rep: Can you install LOVE?
Customer: I can do that. I'm not very technical, but I
think I am ready to install now. What do I do first?
CS Rep: The first step is to open your HEART. Have you
located your HEART, ma'am?
Customer: Yes I have, but there are several programs
running right now. Is it okay to install while they are
running?
CS Rep: What programs are running ma'am?
Customer: Let me see....I have PASTHURT.EXE,
LOWESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE, and RESENTMENT.COM running
right now.
CS Rep: No problem. LOVE will automatically erase
PASTHURT.EXE from your current operating system. It may
remain in your permanent memory, but it will no longer
disrupt other programs. LOVE will eventually overwrite
LOWESTEEM.EXE with a module of its own called
HIGHESTEEM.EXE. However, you have to completely turn
off GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM. Those programs
prevent LOVE from being properly installed. Can you
turn those off ma'am?
Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you
tell me how?
CS Rep: My pleasure. Go to your Start menu and invoke
FORGIVENESS.EXE. Do this as many times as necessary
until GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM have been
completely erased.
Customer: Okay, I'm done. LOVE has started installing
itself automatically. Is that normal?
CS Rep: Yes it is. You should receive a message that
says it will reinstall for the life of your HEART. Do
you see that message?
Customer: Yes I do. Is it completely installed?
CS Rep: Yes, but remember that you have only the base
program. You need to begin connecting to other HEARTS
in order to get the upgrades.
Customer: Oops...I have an error message already. What
should I do?
CS Rep: What does the message say?
Customer: It says "ERROR 412 - PROGRAM NOT RUN ON
INTERNAL COMPONENTS". What does that mean?
CS Rep: Don't worry ma'am, that's a common problem. It
means that the LOVE program is set up to run on
external HEARTS but has not yet been run on your HEART.
It is one of those complicated programming things, but
In non-technical terms it means you have to "LOVE" your
own machine before It can "LOVE" others.
Customer: So what should I do?
CS Rep: Can you find the directory called
"SELF-ACCEPTANCE"?
Customer: Yes, I have it.
CS Rep: Excellent, you are getting good at this.
Customer: Thank you.
CS Rep: You're welcome. Click on the following files
and then copy them to the "MYHEART" directory:
FORGIVESELF.DOC, SELFESTEEM.TXT, REALIZEWORTH.TXT, and
GOODNESS.DOC. The system will overwrite any conflicting
files and begin patching any faulty programming. Also,
you need to delete SELFCRITIC.EXE from all directories,
and then empty your recycle bin afterwards to make sure
it is completely gone and never comes back.
Customer: Got it. Hey! My HEART is filling up with
really neat files. SMILE.MPG is playing on my monitor
right now and it shows that WARMTH.COM, PEACE.EXE, and
CONTENTMENT.COM are copying themselves all over my
HEART!
CS Rep: Then LOVE is installed and running. You should
be able to handle it from here. One more thing before I
go...
Customer: Yes?
CS Rep: LOVE is freeware. Be sure to give it and its
various modules to everybody you meet They will in turn
share it with other people and they will return some
really neat modules back to you.
Customer: I will. Thank you for your help.
When we were children... we would run and hide,
Often beaten and battered... and when we hid we cried.
Dad was supposed to love us.
Surely Mom would protect us.
So instead we built around us a wall,
Sometimes short and sometime tall.
No one could reach us... not even to love.
In order to see us, they had to peek from above.
When we got a little bit older,
We still needed a hug, a kiss or just a shoulder.
We met someone new who pushed and shoved,
Forced us to do something we thought was love.
Now we're going to have a daughter or maybe a son.
Who do we turn to... where do we run?
Some call us killer, some call us whore!
Isn't there anyone who loves us anymore?
So up comes the wall... It's grown even taller.
As it grows and grows... we feel smaller and smaller.
Now that we're older, we're supposed to have more choices.
Instead, what we hear are hateful and ugly voices.
There are things we see and hear and fear.
We begin to wonder... is there any love here?
That one is hated because of the color of his skin.
That one is beaten because she has foreign kin.
This man loves other men and that one's a Jew...
Many use their religion to justify the harm that they do.
So now we all have walls to protect us from each other.
They are so high, we can no longer see one another.
These walls we built... they are so high,
When we look up they seem to reach to the sky.
But walls don't go up to heaven, this I know...
This I've learned when to worship I go.
There I have learned of an unconditional love,
A love that comes to each from above.
God's Holy Spirit creeps over the wall,
No matter how big - no matter how small.
It finds you and enters your heart...
That's where it begins....
Our brand new start!
Poetry written by
(c) Lonnie Tomlin 2000
