To my Valentine

Another wee bobblehead.

To Glen
From Boyd

This one’s pretty large.

No eye so bright, no foot so light,
No heart so tender and true,
As those of a little girl
Who can set my heart a-twirl
And that little Girl is
YOU.

To Doris
From Jerry
xo

Aww…

He put the ‘xo’ after he signed it on the back…

Front:

Fencing
for
Your
Heart

Back:

“Twixt you and me
and my parasol
I hope that for my
love you’ll fall
For though I want
a Valentine
I’ll have no one but
YOU for mine.

To Doris Yager
From EMMA Rusconi

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There’s a little secret
This valentine would tell,
If you like me as I like you,
You like me pretty well.

To Glen
From Cardiff

Ok, that’s just a cool name… Cardiff.

Aw. The poor kid’s crying!

It says…

I
WANT
MY
VALENTINE!

On the back:

To Glen
From Will.

Another bobblehead Valentine!

(I like that third pose… the eyes all wacky-askew… just the kind of crazed person I want to be MY Valentine… oh yeah.)

Valentine Greetings

To Doris J.
From Mildred Anderson

(Did she think it was Jaeger, not Yager, perhaps?)

Adjusting doggy’s little bow makes the eyes move a bit.

To One I Love

To Glen
From Willi

Ok, here we have a little boy’s dream Valentine…

A cow blowing snot on two little lovers, ostensibly as a loving greeting.

Uh huh.

So… Happy Sappy Crap Day, everyone. This is JUST for you. What could possibly be more romantic than being snotted on by a bovine?

With most sincere sentiment,

Joy

No, I’m not going to talk about diseases.

Nor do I intend to rail, rant, and rave about the disease that I think Valentine’s Day is. I know. It’s a tradition. I’ve been doing it for years, in a string of online blogs, and email exchanges with dear friends. Let’s break tradition.

I know some people still believe in love. Why blow it for the poor saps while they’re still happy? They don’t need ME to harsh their mellow. That will come of its own accord sooner or later.

So… enjoy hearts and flowers. Enjoy candlelight. Hopefully, somebody, somewhere is being adored by the person they adore most. Maybe it’s you. Good for you.

Because I’m not. And I doubt I ever will be again. I’m still not okay with that idea; probably never will reconcile with it. I can still smile. It’s just a little more weak, a little more watery around the eyes, slightly less open. Battered animals are slightly more timid and cautious ever after.

Red. The color of blood. And pink. The color of rent flesh. The colors that bring to mind the state of my heart after a man who swore he loved me more than anyone reached in, ripped it out, threw it on the floor, stomped around on it gleefully, then ground it under his heel for good measure.

Still, in the spirit of the day… or, at least, the spirit of what the day has become, I offer what follows.

Be happy. Gaze into that loved one’s eyes and drown there. Touch. Hold. Connect and don’t let go.

When you’re in the thick of it… it’s glorious. I remember. A bit too vividly for comfort.

And if you need more Valentine goodness, click the “Valentines Year Round” link over in the “Categories” box, or check out the Valentines Year Round on my old blog site. I’m sharing vintage Valentines weekly (when I remember), until I run out of new ones to scan. Some of them are more than 80 years old. Cynic that I am, even I find them to be sweet and entertaining. (And they make me think of my beloved Grandmother, who also lived the majority of her adult life without the person she adored most. She was a phenomenal human being. I can be, too.)

Edit:

For those of you who think I’m wallowing in the despair and futility of it all… well, I WILL admit I’m wearing all black today in honor of those who have fallen (to that barbarian, Cupid’s, arrows, and to the corporate machinations of greeting card companies who have commandeered romance and cheapened gestures of caring to the price of a card or stuffed animal), but I’m also wearing pretty pink things beneath all that black. I’m not completely hopeless, ya know.

This one SEEMS to say

Doris Yeagers

Ethel Robbins

but I’m not sure, because the pencil is so faint. AND… it looks like it may be a re-used greeting, as there is even more faint pencil markings that appear to be other names beneath the ones I can read…

I imagine money was tight then. If things could be re-used, why not? It’s still a pretty little greeting, right?