Thursday, February 14, 2008

with a little love and luck

valentine's day vexes men. plain and simple. my thinking, what makes this day different than others? i know that st. valentine was a priest who secretly married young couples way back in the day. i know there was a pretty famous massacre in gangland chicago in the more recent past. i bet more guys know details about the latter than the former, but all are utterly confused about what to do for this holiday. i know that people watching is ever more interesting today. go to the grocery store and play the Which Girls Have Dates? game. i bet you have no trouble discerning the two. yet another difference in the sexes!

unless it's been discussed prior to today, i'd venture to guess that most guys are perplexed about what is appropriate for their girlfriends or dates. there's that fine line to walk between not stepping up to the plate and going overboard by letting on that you care too much. dinner? candy? flowers? lingerie? what's too much? what's too little? lucky me, i know the answer!

don't get me wrong, i'm still the same jaded valentine's day hater of hallmark. what was once a perhaps religious holiday has been corrupted by american commercialism. isn't today just another day to show that you care about or love someone? flowers, making dinner. no different than several other nights each month. i can just get cards for this particular date.

thanks, hallmark, for helping me say what she already knows!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm properly celebrating my disdain for the most ridiculous holiday ever created by wearing a black turtleneck and telling him yesterday (and every other day), how I feel. I guess I can be thankful that the repulsive Zales commercials will be ending...well, until Mother's Day rolls around.

I'm disgusted every time I see those commercials that we are teaching girls to expect lavish gifts and that anything else is less than acceptable.

And what am I supposed to get my boyfriend/husband/significant other? If I'm going to buy into participating in this mockery of a saint, where do I find the list of male-appropriate gifts?

The website www.someecards.com says, "BJ's are just like flowers for guys." Although it's all in good fun, some people actually take this sort of thing seriously and do it thinking they are being a "good" girlfriend/wife. Sorry guys! And c'mon ladies, if you're going to succumb to the "holiday," at least be creative and maybe, *gasp*, use your brain.

My decision to wear black today is not in defiance of love or relationships. I wear black to represent everything that is wrong with american commercialism and the corruption of the human mind.

Sorry for the rant, Ben. I could've gone on for days, but I'll spare you. But if I see another heart-shaped balloon, peppermint pattie or pink cupcake, we may have issues. =)

Mr. J said...

Exactly my point, Blase! I tell her every day, not just today. It's just another day, albeit one that I can buy something for. I mock those that take it too seriously; today part of the reason that I care is because it's fun for my students to give and receive and practice good manners in a social setting.

I'm reminded of a friend of mine that went to The Swamp wearing St. Patty's Day green on Valentine's Day and got yelled at by guys and girls alike. C'mon, seriously?

rachel said...

I made the mistake of stopping at Publix around 6 this evening. I just needed milk! There were absolutely no spots in the parking lot, and the aisles were filled with guys or groups of guys trying to figure out what to get for their girlfriends. There were serious discussions going on over a single rose or a bouquet? Candy or chocolate dipped strawberries?

I was probably one of the obvious Girls Without a Date with my milk, goldfish crackers and sushi for one. But that's ok because I got lots of love and cards from all of the children in my life today :)

Mr. J said...

you would not have been one of the Obvious Girls without a Date because in my people-watching experiences on hallmark day i mock those girls that shuffle their feet down the aisles with a pint of ice cream on the verge of tears because they don't have a date. i mock them because they take it too seriously, not because they're sad. i mock too the girls who seem to float down the aisle, ear-to-ear grins betraying their plans because they too take it too seriously. (how many times can i say too in a sentence?!).

i'm guessing you were somewhere in between, a brighter shade of NORMAL!