Rainy Valentine's Day

It's 43° outside at 1:00 in the afternoon, it's raining, and I couldn't be happier.

The rain kept people away from the post office, where I went to collect all my mail and take it off vacation hold. There was only one person ahead of me, so my wait was short and was accompanied by music from a dancing, fuzzy heart on the counter that played a passable rendition of Herman's Hermits' "Baby, Baby, Can't You Feel My Heartbeat." The toddler daughter of the customer by that clerk was mesmerized.

At the grocery store, they were sold out of the 4-packs of chocolate-dipped strawberries that I wanted, so I had to settle for the 7-pack, nicely presented in a plastic container designed for a single rose. I have some tea brewing now for the occasion.

While I waited in line, which was almost as short as the one at the post office, a man came behind me and placed his goods on the belt: a bouquet of roses and a 9- or 12-pack of white-chocolate-dipped strawberries. His choices reminded me of a comment Dennis Prager made on his radio show today. First a little background:

Dennis had John Gray (of the Mars & Venus books) as his guest for the second hour of his show, and Gray said as a throwaway line (Dennis later called it a "grenade" of a throwaway) that men appreciate their woman more than women appreciate their man. From that, Dennis went on to devote the third hour to asking listeners if Gray was right. His listeners, men and women alike, were unanimous that Gray's statement is true.

At the end of the hour, Dennis was summarizing the calls he didn't get a chance to take on air. One man had called to say that he was at a Hallmark store looking at cards, and the man next to him, who was holding two different cards, turned to him and said, "No matter which one I pick, it'll be the wrong one."

So I talked to the guy behind me in line (he didn't get that wild-eyed look of fear that you can sometimes get when strange people talk to you in line) and told him about Prager's show and this story about the cards, and I said that it looked like he must have picked something right, with both the flowers and the strawberries. And he said his wife is really great that way, that it's all good, which was nice to hear.

And then I checked out. Twice, because the checker somehow didn't think my package of strawberries were mine (Do I look like a man-hating, lonely spinster who couldn't get a man even if she clubbed him over the head? No, don't answer that).

Then I went outside, where the air was cold and the rain was colder, and I had on my heavy jacket (which I had left at home when we went off to our trip through the South) to keep me warm, and my fingers got cold and my cheeks felt cold and my nose started to run a little, and it was pure bliss. Man! I miss the seasons...

May your Valentine's Day--whether you have someone special or not--be wonderful. And you attached ladies, be sure you let your man know how much you appreciate him. He needs to hear it from you.