The burning sensation that is VD

valentine rose 2
Originally uploaded by Skip Hansen.

I know, I stole that header from a local journalist here in Chicago whose column in last week's paper commented on the sham that is VD, or Valentine's Day. The 24-hour period that is the scourge of singles everywhere. And the one day of the year when I most feel like staying home with the doona over my head.

Now I'm a romantic from way back. I love soppy movies, moonlit walks, love songs and the whole lot. But now having seen the way this country flips out over Valentine's Day, I'm willing to agree with the local columnist that VD really is over-the-top. Candied hearts, gooey chocolates, and more plushy stuffed toys than you can poke with a stick. And really, you should poke them with sticks whenever you can.

[Okay so I'm also grouchy that no one remembered to ring the florist and send me roses. But let's move on, shall we?]

This post is less about my own lack of lovin' and more an opportunity to muse about the genuinely romantic gestures I've observed today:

• A woman held the bus doors open for a man laden with his work bags, and struggling down the bus's centre steps this morning;
• A man in my coffee shop was buying his female friend a coffee, and taking great pains to make sure he got the order exactly right; and finally, and most importantly for me
• Biggsy and Penelope (my colleagues) each gave me a heart-shaped biscuit with pink frosting.

So while I am sans Valentine this year, I am still hopefully that John Paul Young was right and that love is in the air. Or all around. Or whatever. Perhaps it's just me, over here and mellowing ungraciously in my old age.