Valentine's Day

I'm going to do my best to not sounds like a stick in the mud but...I really don't like valentine's day. If there was ever anything so pure as a loving relationship between two people...why ruin that with an overly commercialized over hyped sell-out one day a year holiday. I mean really, if your relationship boils down to a specific day each year where you and your significant other judge each one another, then there are some serious issues. Don't even get me started on people who propose on valentine's day. Is there anything more anti-romantic than popping the big question on a day that someone else (in this case the decidedly unromantic catholic church) decided on years ago. In a silly attempt to get people to be personal with one another it has become the most impersonal of holidays. I suppose it all starts back in elementary school when everyone gets a candy and card from everyone else. I think somebody missed the point there...its a little communist if you ask me. Does it bother anyone else that the predominant color is RED. Furthermore as a guy, imagine what would have happened if I had followed the advice of my beloved grade school teachers and given valentines indiscriminately to everyone I knew. In this day and age of sexual harassment and unwelcomed advances I would probably be put in jail for such denial of proper valentine's etiquette. If I were a young woman (please note that this phrase will never again be written in this blog for any reason...EVER), and a gentleman suitor came to woo me on valentine's day I would be a bit suspicious. Here comes a man with chocolates in hand trying to make up for 364 (365 this year) other days this year when he didn't do such things. Should I then bow down and say...oh, I knew it was worth putting up with his crap for this one day when I would be showered with flowers and heart shaped boxes of chocolates. My answer..."NO". I would much rather a spouse who was of only mediocre quality every day than an idiot who put on a romantic flair one day a year. With that in mind and in the spirit of full disclosure; after work today... I'm buying flowers and chocolate. Nobody's perfect. Patrick OUT!