Your Funny Valentine

Scott Hardie | February 14, 2017
I hope the holiday is a happy one for you. Do you have any good memories of Valentines Days past to share?

Steve West | February 14, 2017
Brenda and I celebrate this day as the anniversary of our first kiss. It was a memorable moment for us both as I had been contemplating a serious romance with her for some time and I surprised her with flowers and a handwritten piece of poetry. I showed up at her place at her invitation and I presented her with my token but heartfelt gifts, After convening to her sofa and a lengthy, comfortable conversation, it became time to depart. Before leaving, I asked her permission to kiss her. She agreed and we kissed in a soft, gentle manner. We agreed to dinner on a future (as in very soon) occasion. And the rest is history - a whirlwind romance that led to marriage within nine months. I regret nothing and consider it the best decision I've ever made.

Erik Bates | February 14, 2017
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Steve West | February 14, 2017
Thanks. Kind words from a good guy. There's a movie line I quote to Brenda now and then from "The Cowboys" said by Mr. Nightlinger. After telling an outrageous tale of his father, one of the children asks, "Is that true?' He responds, "If it isn't, it oughta be..." I tell her stories from my youth in which some of the details have faded from memory so I fill in here and there with what I truly think happened but I suspect sometimes are merely what I want to have happened. Happily, the Valentine's Day tale is 100% accurate.

Scott Hardie | February 18, 2017
Nice story! You and Brenda are the best, Steve. And if a story isn't true, it can at least be true enough.

Kelly and I don't make much fuss about Valentine's Day, partly to save money and partly to avoid overeating sugary junk food like chocolate, so each year with us it's some low-key fun, like an inexpensive gift of a silly t-shirt or a new card game or something. The tone of irreverence may have been set the first year that she moved here, when I snuck out at dawn to pick up her favorite breakfast food -- McDonald's -- and brought it back to her in bed, and she was delighted. Another year, we planned to go to a Chinese buffet and I was friendly with the owner, so an hour before the meal I brought him small heart-shaped cakes and tiny red candles and convinced him to serve them to us after the meal, which went great except for how stuffed the buffet left us feeling. We may not be traditionally romantic, but we have our own private code of romantic gestures and wouldn't change a thing.