I (Heart) St. Valentine's Day

He comes out of his house, sees people kissing, and we get six more weeks of love. Isn't that how it works? Lots better than that groundhog stuff.

Valentine, the saint of which there seems to have been many. Or, at least, many people with that name or that reputation, one of which has been held up for our emulation (pretty much what canonization, sainthood, means). Exactly what did he do? Take your pick from all the stories, because they tend to be lovely.

We didn’t know much about them in grammar school. The nuns set time apart for us to distribute the cards during class time and it was nice to get them. I seem to remember that Mary Lou Dinan (rest in peace) picked up a few more than the others. Of course, Mary Lou had a lot more going for her, especially where it counted.

Even I, always the loner, picked up an appropriate pile. I think Peggy Snow always had one for me and it may have been more than just “Be My Valentine.” More than that, but less than “Let’s Go Behind The Barn.” I don’t recall having any for the nuns; they were not the “Let’s Be Valentines Together” type. You didn’t make a move on nuns.

The girls often used their middle names. Mary Ethel, Mary Ann, Mary Lou, Mary somebody else. Too many Mary’s so the middle name came in handy. The first one mentioned here said she always knew when someone remembered her from grammar school, as others knew her simply as Mary and not Mary Ethel. She, too, is R.I.P.