Love is still the world’s most unexplainable human quality, and that’s terrible. Every year around this time (Valentine’s Day), millions of dollars are spent on cards, flowers, jewelry and trips to hotsy-totsy naughty late-night getaways with satin sheets and champagne bubbles in the hot tub, while untold numbers of folks get zilch. Oh, sorry, that’s wrong, they do get one thing: forgotten.
Holidays in general are depressing times for people who are left out of the loop. In December one bunch of people are celebrating Christmas while another waits for Hanukkah or a third waits for Kwanzaa. The nature-based religions (Druids and such) who used to make merry on dates like 12/25 have to share, and I guess that over time nobody minded that much, as long as they still had the right to celebrate.
The exclusivity of holidays tend to leave large numbers of people segregated yet unable to escape the din of the merriment, much like a teetotaler making a wrong turn onto a street full of boozers. The best you can do is politely push on and hope it’s over soon.
When I used to take the train to and from work, I would see men in business suits holding huge balloons or red and pink bags filled with gifts bound for an appreciative mate. As I observed the passengers I could see those who would raise their books a bit higher to cover their eyes or opted to look out the window at the passing scenery instead of lingering on the loneliness of going someplace where nobody would be bringing such appreciation home to them.
Fate or circumstance makes some people prone, for whatever reason, to avoidance by the opposite sex. Nobody really knows why. There doesn’t seem to be much reliable data on depression or suicide rates specifically related to Valentine’s Day, but spring tends to cause a slight increase in suicide rates, and with all the lead-up in the media and in storefronts nationwide, you can be sure some folks will get the blues come 02/14 when there is no balloon or flower to mark somebody’s love for them. It’s just plain sad that on a day meant to celebrate love, some just won’t get it.
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