Do You Believe?

Inexplicably, I was made aware of some interesting estimations regarding what was on

Sally’s mind. After April went to bed, I confronted my dear wife, and I began by gently rubbing her back and shoulders.

“Sally, do you know this computer that I’ve been dealing with lately?”

“How can I not?” she replied.

“Well, I’m supposed to find out what makes it so special. I want to see if it is on target when it said that it can read your mind.” I hoped she wouldn’t notice the magnitude of what I was alluding to.

Sally did notice. “What in blazes are you talking about? If who is on target?”

“Max. The computer.”

“Max is the computer?”

“Yes. It’s been telling me things, and it has been correct every single time.”

“This is getting weird. Even for you. Let me get this straight. Max is the computer in the basement? I thought I heard you talking down there in the middle of the night, but I assumed you

were on the phone.”

“Not only that, but he speaks seven different languages.” I have to admit, this was easier than I thought. Sally was being a real team player. “Of course, I keep it set on English.”

“Naturally. I’m sure your Latin is a little rusty.”

“I prefer to have it automatically print out the information it comes up with. I usually keep it that way, but sometimes I like to hear its voice in the middle of the night or during the day when

no one is around. It helps me keep my sanity.”

“I’m not sure it’s working.”

“Ha-ha. Very funny.”

Finally, Sally cut to the chase. “Then what did you want to talk to me about?

“Max indicated that it can read minds, so I checked it out on you.”

“You are losing it! But I’m willing to help out…in the interest of science.”

“And don’t forget, national security.”

“Whatever.” Sally sighed. I could tell she was exhausted from a long school day. She continued, “I’ll play along, but remember, I’m very skeptical. Will that affect how well it works?”

“No, dear.” I chuckled. “I’m not about to hypnotize you.”

Sally laughed too. Then I continued, “First of all, don’t be frightened if any of these are correct.”

“Go ahead,” she huffed. “Please hurry, I have papers to grade and lesson plans to write!”

I put the paper up to my forehead as if I was using furtive powers of my own mind. “You want flowers for Valentine’s Day this year. Roses. Sent to your school.”

Sally didn’t seem impressed. “That’s no secret. I hope for that every year, and you still haven’t come through. Next.”

I jumped right to the next thing on my list. “You want to go to Italy for vacation this year instead of Disney World.”

“Hey, that’s pretty good. I never talked to you about that. I may have mentioned it to my sisters, but that was months ago. What else you got?”

“You are secretly disturbed that I leave crumbs all over the place and clothes around the house. You actually think that I am…sloppy.”

“Now there’s a scoop!” Sally seemed to be getting a little perturbed. “I never said anything about that all of these years because I know that you’re always under a lot of pressure with work. But that should have been axiomatic for your friend Max.”

“So you do think that I’m too messy?”

“Let’s face it. Cleanliness is next to godliness. But with you, cleanliness is next to…. impossible.”

I felt a little insulted. More importantly, Sally didn’t seem too impressed. “Oh, that hurts! I think we’re done here.”

“Not necessarily. I am quite intrigued. Is that the best that you and Max can do?

“Okay, how about this? You are planning a surprise party for my birthday in December.”

“Hey, how did you know? Do I talk in my sleep or something?”

“No, but you do snore.”

Finally, Sally showed some real emotion, almost passion. “This is really pretty amazing! I have to admit, you were right every time!”

“Are you ready for one more?” I asked with more confidence now.

“I guess so, but why don’t you just quit while you’re ahead?”

“I am willing to roll the dice. You know what a gambler I am.” I hesitated for a few seconds and gave Sally a chance to get a drink of water. I kept thinking about how Max came up

with everything. Even if Sally talked about any of this to anyone from her school where she worked or in her daily routine, I am sure that Max would not be aware of it. People must have better things to do than to run to the computer and type in the details of conversations that they had with Sally. I found it amazing that Max was able to dig up this kind of information on its own.

The last thing that I brought up was the notion that Sally really hated having such golden blonde hair. Sally’s consternation was that due to her blonde hair, good looks, and good-natured

personality, some of her colleagues considered her vacuous, and that she lacked substance. In fact, she rarely socialized in the faculty room at school, and she always ate lunch by herself in her classroom to save time and get some planning done. Sometimes she would use the time during lunch to give extra help to some of her needy students. When I brought up this last prediction from Max, Sally seemed at first to take it in stride.

“You’re right! I do feel that a few people at work don’t always take me seriously, or that my opinions don’t matter as much as some of the less experienced staff members.” Then her tone changed dramatically. She really seemed upset and confrontational. “Do you think that any of this is true? You seem to have all of the answers tonight!”