Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine (K. Gamble, L. Huff) ~ Erwin Lazaro 055

I had a few crushes in high school.  =)  It seemed like crushes were flyin' left and right.  Guys gossiped as much as the girls did -- maybe even worse!  I had one crush, in particular, that spanned the majority of my high school days.  In fact, I believe that most everyone knew that I had a crush on this one girl, even her boyfriends.  For those of you who know me and for those of you who have gotten to know me through YouTube, you have a good idea of who I am.  I wear my heart on my sleeve.  I was a good guy then and I'm a good guy now.  Heck, I was friends with her boyfriends and everyone knew I was harmless.  I didn't mind that label at all.  I was very proud of it!  As far as I knew, the boyfriends didn't mind; all but one, I think ... Do you remember candy grams?  I sent her candy grams for every occasion; flower grams and balloon grams too!  I'd write something harmless and I'd draw pretty pictures for her.  I was a hopeless romantic.  I've been a hopeless romantic since I was 13 years old.  You'd gather that if you had read the writing for my last video.  I gave her birthday cards.  I gave a few stuffed animals too.  I was living vicariously, pretending that she was "my" girlfriend.

I did have two very innocent relationships in high school; the type where the relationship was mostly over the phone, spending hours talking about everything under the sun.  Even though we were in the same high school, we spent most of the time like we were just friends.  I didn't share classes with my "girlfriends" and I participated in different activities than they did.  It was hard to spend any time together.  We'd just rely on the phone.  (And, NO, not at the same time; I'm referring two different times during high school.  And, NO, I wasn't crushin' on that one girl while I was giving my attention to someone special.)  I have to admit that I was still learning how to treat a girl.  I don't think my high school "girlfriends" liked being my "girlfriend", actually.  The phone calls were great, but they wanted to spend more time with me and I couldn't do that.  My education was more valuable and I had to remain focused on the future.  It was NOT easy.  Teenage ANYTHING is a crazy period for EVERYTHING!  It was NOT easy.  Hooooooo, it was NOT easy.  The reality is that I developed my first serious relationship with a girl when I was 22 years old.  I was still a boy.

I give thanks to our Lord God in Heaven with every breath I take.  My prayers are continuously answered.  It turns out that I was destined for something Great!  The singular dream of the 13-year-old me became a reality when I was 30-years-old.  Looking back, I wasn't ready to be given what I had dreamed of becoming at the age of 25.  God works in profound and glorious ways because I would have messed everything up if the same opportunity was presented to me when I was 25.  God knew. Instead, do you know what God had planned for me?  I truly believe that our Lord God in Heaven placed a seed of love within a woman who had a "crush" on me from a distance, and maintained that "crush" on me for 10 YEARS, before we even met for the very first time.  Those close to me know that story in detail and those who don't know ... well, it's a long fairytale for my wife and me.  If I find the right song, I might tell it, one day.

This one is for all of the "crushes", realized, and unrealized.  "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" is perfect for those who have experienced the agony of unrequited "love".  Love is in parenthesis because, is it really love if affections are not reciprocated?  Maybe ... Maybe not ... Who am I to say?  What I do know is that, I'm eternally grateful that, one amazing woman had a crush on me, and the conditions were made right so that I could reciprocate FOREVER MORE.  "Thank you", my love.  It's still hard for me to believe your story because it seems like your story is unbelievable.  This is cliché but, if I'm really dreaming then I NEVER want to wake up.  Even so, I'm not lying down waiting for life to unfold.  Instead, I'm doing EVERYTHING that I can in order to make sure this dream continues to be my reality; like continually professing my eternal love for my wife on YouTube!  I'm building and I'm building.  I'm always stunned when I stop to think that it all began with a crush.

from Wikipedia:
"You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" (written by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff) is a song performed by R&B singer Lou Rawls on his 1976 album All Things in Time.  The song proved to be Rawls' breakthrough hit, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the R&B and Easy Listening charts.  "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" has been covered by singers Michael Bublé, Laura Pausini, reggae legend John Holt, and most recently the Dub Pistols.  This song was also featured on The Proud Family Soundtrack. It can also be heard in the films: The Hot Chick; Guess Who; Disturbia; Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs; Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns; and on the TV sitcom That 70's Show.