I Heart Nerds

My friends, Alex and Nancy, saw a shirt in Philadelphia that they thought would be perfect for me. It was a white T-shirt, and on it was printed simply "I love Nerds." The letters were plain and black, the word "love" replaced by a bright red heart. They couldn't have been more right.

I do love nerds. I'm not talking pocket protector and glasses held together by tape. I don't mean a guy who wears his pants up around his nipples, the cuffs of his polyester pants stopping long before they reach his shoes, as if anticipating a flood, who quotes Bill Gates and does math for fun. I mean a nerd like me.

I love nerds who are really smart, who can teach me things; I love a man I can learn from. I love nerds who have drive and dedication, who are in active pursuit of more knowledge. I love nerds because if a guy qualifies as a nerd, he's certainly not cocky. He's not afraid to let it show that he doesn't know everything, but he'd like to learn. He won't make me feel stupid, and I won't have compete over who's cooler. He's a little shy, as a result of all of those years spent studying and reading. But he's most definitely not insecure (there's nothing more unappealing than an insecure guy.), because he knows, without question, who he is. I love nerds who are funny. And I mean really funny. They're funny because they don't really care what other people think. They may laugh at themselves more than other people laugh with them, but that's okay. They're not being funny because they feel like they have to, and they're not being funny in a slapstick way. They'll make obscure references to literature and history, knowing that if you don't get it, he doesn't want to hang out with you anyway. He listens to every single solitary type of music there is. He's not a fan on one genre alone - He likes it all. He knows who Muddy Waters is, and he can recognize Andrea Bocelli. He was a fan of Ray Charles long before he died, but he also has an abiding love for Gansta Rap. He doesn't have to be able to dance, but he does have to feel the music. I love nerds who are sweet. They open doors and they pull out chairs because their moms told them to when they were young, and they remembered. They're not trying to play the tough guy; They're trying to be gentlemen. I love nerds with attention to detail. They notice your singing voice, and that you have blue eyes. They say things like "Wow. You are so smart," as though they are impressed by your brain, without even knowing that hearing a guy say that turns you on.

And if all of that is wrapped up in a good-looking package, I love 'em even more.