“Lookin' So Long,” Success Worth Singin' About

Paul and Helen

Let me start my story from the end. Helen and I met on Yahoo! Personals and got engaged in July 2000. We planned to get married in 2005 after her youngest son graduated from high school (she has another son and I have a son and two daughters who are older), but we moved up the date date by a year and got married on August 21, 2004.

Last year, I wrote a song, “Lookin’ So Long,” about how we met. I had the song professionally recorded and gave Helen a CD with it on our first wedding anniversary. To hear “Lookin’ So Long,” click here.

“Lookin’ So Long”

Just two lonely strangers
We were goin' our separate ways
And to tell the truth
We would have never met
If it wasn't for the internet

She didn't like to go to bars
I'd had enough of them too
When I saw the ad she placed on Yahoo!

I'd been lookin' so long
For that special woman
But I wasn't havin' much luck
Though I'd always dreamed she was comin'
I was about to give up

I sent her an email
We wrote each other for a while
She sent a note
With a photo attached
I really liked her smile

We both believed in honesty
Were through with lies and deceit
Soon we knew the time had come for us to meet

I'd been lookin' so long
For that special woman
But I wasn't havin' much luck
Though I'd always dreamed she was comin'
I was about to give up

I waited there for her
A little scared, I must confess
And to tell the truth
When our eyes first met
I said goodby to loneliness

It wasn't long before we touched
It seemed too good to be true
And before we said goodby I said I love you

I'd been lookin' so long
For that special woman
I was so glad I'd finally found her
Now we're two hearts wedded together
Two hearts from here to forever
And we're thankful for that place called cyberspace

Lyrics to “Lookin’ So Long” ©2005 Paul A. Vitulli

Success tips from Helen and Paul

• Be selective and careful about the people you are meeting. If something makes you uneasy, "hit the brakes."
• Remember, important life goals take time, effort and persistence Finding the right person to spend the rest of your life with certainly deserves all of these.
• Focus on enjoying the experience of meeting new people rather than on the outcome of those meetings.
• In your profile, tell people who you really are. Don’t be concerned about what you think people want to hear.
• Spend enough time communicating so that when you finally agree to meet, you feel like you’re meeting a friend.
• First date: We met at a pub/restaurant that we both knew. When Helen walked in and our eyes met, I was sure that my days of being alone had come to an end. We sat at a booth and talked. Our communication, which had been so good in our emails and phone conversations, was even better in person. At one point, when Helen took my hand in hers, I knew we were both feeling a special connection.



At a particularly poignant moment, just before we said goodbye, I hugged her and the words "I love you" slipped out. I was very surprised to hear myself say those words, especially on a "first date." But looking back, I was only saying what we both already knew, we were two people in love.

I’d heard people describe similar events when they met their soul mate but I never expected anything like that to happen to me. I should add that Helen and I are both professional people who are conservative and cautious by nature. I am still in awe of what the Internet and Yahoo! Personals made possible and that is a big part of what inspired me to write the song.

Do you have a love story to share, lyrical or not? Let us know!

Back to top

More Success Stories