Thought for the Day - Feb 14

Subject: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Peter T.
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 02:01 PM

It is Reading Week, so, like my students, I am out reading nature. This morning, cold and snowy, I tramp around in a ravine I have not tried before in winter, slipping everywhere, ploughing through great drifts, turning against the wind. Long silences. Then, high up in a tree, a Valentine sound -- the bright red voice of a cardinal, darting through the morning. Is there a sweeter sound in February? I sit on a stump, pull out my binoculars. He is easy to spot, heaven knows, high atop a tree; but where is his brown beloved? Minutes pass -- can he be alone? On Valentine's Day? More minutes pass. He sings, sending his redtinged message in all directions. Surely such a sweet song will not go unrequited? I trek after him, like a lady on a subway train reading a Harlequin novel -- surely it must end well...! And then, on the last page, with my toes frozen, I find her, in a new tree, a few branches down. She is calm, sober, but worth every note. I stroll away through the drifts, leaving them to their romance, whistling the cardinal's song. Ah, love.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: katlaughing
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 02:19 PM

Ah, the voice of the cardinal....so missed out here in the West. Thanks for the reminder of their sweet sounds, Peter. Out here I always listen for the first Meadowlark of the Spring, but that won't happen until March or April, depending on weather. Nice that your fellow found his mate.

kat

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 02:20 PM

A big sloppy Happy Valentine's Day kiss to all the 'Catters, I am proud to know all of you, and will carry your humor and creativity throughout my day to foist upon an unsuspecting world.

Thank you, Peter T, for starting the Valentine's thread and doing it so beautifully.

Hmhmhmhm...mmmmmm..... M!

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Amos
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 02:22 PM

Love them sloppy kisses, and the same from here to those that are willing! Thank you, Peter, for your unflagging limpid and poetic style.

A

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 02:24 PM

I love happy endings. May all your Valentines be genuine ones, from the heart. Yours, Aye. Dave

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 02:30 PM

I should clarify that sloppy kiss will be a chaste altho enthusiastic one, as the other sort are spoken for.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: jeffp
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 03:03 PM

Happy Valentine's Day to all. May you find the love you seek and cherish the love you have.

jeffp

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Peg
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 03:05 PM

beautiful thought, Peter, as usual. The cardinal couple in a tree, the male the color of cinnamon hearts, the female the color of, i don't know, milk chocolate...agaist the snowy, lacy white background; what a wonderful image for a valentine!

peg

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: katlaughing
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 03:12 PM

Mmmm, Peg, like my chocolate Siamese...perfect cat for Valentine's Day, especially 'cause he loves me so much!

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Little Neophyte
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 03:39 PM

Today my sister bought me a box of Lady Godiva chocolates. It's only 3:30p.m. and I've already devoured 1/2 the box.
The question is, should I eat the rest and die a heavenly death?

Little Neo(who will be a little bigger if she keeps going)

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Amos
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 03:48 PM

Gobble 'em down, Neo -- you can't gain weight on Valentine's Day. But if you wait unitl tomorrow, you get to add 2 pounds of waist for every pound of chocolate. It's in the handbook.

A

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Peter T.
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 04:05 PM

I must have missed something (apart from wishing the Mudcat ladies a blessed Valentine's day) -- What happened to Banjo Bonnie? Did the name change not take? Have you switched instruments?
yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Peg
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 04:30 PM

calori worries on Valentine's Day? perish the thought!

I bought myself a box of Godiva chocs; ivory assortment. They are not as good as they used to be, they have stopped making many of their earlier varieties (coffee creams, maple creams, coconut, caramel fillings); everything seems to be hazelnut praline... these are inferior chocolates, anyway despite the high price and hype; they are made with paraffin, the sure sign of cheap chocolates; best to go with handmade or Belgian or Swiss, I say...Lindts are nice for the price. The best no longer exist: Corne de la Toison D'or, from Belgium. But Manon are a close second (aso Belgian).

Peg (who used to sell chocolates for a living)

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Mbo
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 04:48 PM

Ahh....tell 'em how it is, Peter. I just heard the cardinal a few seconds ago, outside my bedroom window. As for Valentine's Day--it's tough when you have no Valentine, but that doesn't mean you can't wish a happy holiday to those who do! My friend & colleague Dr.Brown (from my work-study job) gave me some Valentine's Day heat candies. As I greedily devoured eat heart, with it's sappy sayings--"Be Mine" "You're Sweet" "True Love," I came across one that mada me burst out laughing. It said "Get Real." Well..how about that! I think I'll set up my kissing booth now!

--Mbo

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Amos
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 04:55 PM

Heat candies??? Ooooh, noooo, Mr Brown! that's not what Mbo needs....

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Mbo
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 04:58 PM

Yep, those little heat candies--I eat heart and mada me laugh--yikes! My Neapolitan heritage is poking through!

--Mbo (and that's Ms.Brown!)

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Max
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 04:59 PM

Unfortunately, this year, this holiday has no meaning for me... at least no good meaning. As Son House said, "Blues is about one thing, LOVE between two people. Everything else is monkey junk." That pretty much sums up my thoughts on this day... this year. All I remember about Love now is the pain it causes.

I remember something else. Like a lost vision, a feeling that we nearly forget like the anticipation of Christmas Eve and surprise on Christmas Morning when we still believed in Santa Clause. Remember that? Can we ever feel that again now that we know? One of them things that only exists in our memories, only to be felt in retrospect. We can only watch it on our mental VCR, but its never as good because we know the ending.

I WANT IT BACK! I am dissatisfied with the memory of Love, the ending was a letdown, and I want to write a new one. But it just seems that I cannot remember the feeling well enough, or at least positively enough, to recreate it, or find it. I just hope that now that I have seen one version from beginning to end that it does not ruin it for me. The sequel is never as good as the original.

We know the risks of sky diving. When one does it, they know that they may plunge to their death in a horrible accident. Yet they still do it. Unlike Love, however, you can't learn this lesson the hard way. If it doesn't work out right ONCE, you don't get to try again. You're done.

I am not bitter. I am not afraid. I am not unwilling to try again. I am not ready.

I want to be surprised. Once again, I want to be restless in anticipation of unwrapping a new present (and I'm not talking about Christmas). I want to meet someone that makes me clumsy and nervous. I want to unwrap a person's personality, history, and life in one of them all night conversations that always prefix a relationship. I want to not be able to wait to hear the next tidbit about her. I want to be absolutely floored by the simple gift of a first kiss. A kiss that makes a prediction, a kiss that pens a story of how hard we'll try, a kiss that lets me once again feel that Love is not only Blue, but every color in the rainbow and a couple that I've never seen before.

Is that too much to ask?

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Mbo
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 05:04 PM

Oh MAN Max--that's exactly what I wanted to say--but could never put down so eloquently...here's to the lonely boys the world over!

--Mbo

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Little Neophyte
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 07:17 PM

Max, I think I've just fallen in love with you.
That was beautiful.
I was becoming convinced that good quality chocolate was better. But after reading your posting, I must honestly question my attitude.
This year I was celebrating being my own Valentine.
I was really nice to myself today. Did some things for myself I normally would not take the time to do. Besides my sister's chocolates, I treated myself royally.
I figure it is a good place to start.
Thanks Max, your posting made my Valentine's Day that much more meaningful.
All the best,
Little Neo

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Little Neophyte
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 07:25 PM

Peter T., I decided I still feel like a little neophyte when it comes to where I would like to go with the banjo.
My britches(sp) felt too big.
I also missed Little Neo an awful lot.

LN

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Troll
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 07:46 PM

I have a pair of cardinals that live year-round in my back yard so I ge to hear their cherry song all the time. For me, Valentines Day means that the Red-bud trees are in bloom and spring is almost here. Soon the Sandhill Cranes will be staging up in great wheeling circles overhead as they call to each other that it is time to start the long trek north to the breeding grounds. The azaleas and dogwoods will burst into bloom overnight and we will be overwhelmed with color here in north central Florida.

Max and Mbo, love like spring is just around the next corner.

troll

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: JenEllen
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 07:52 PM

Ah Peter; Once again you come up with a gem that makes me want to curl up in a comfy chair and watch you sleep.

This "holiday", personally, makes me retch at the thought of it. That the world and greeting card companies feel the need to tell me how to speak my heart. Revolting to a bull-headed she such as I.

So I'm just going to sit here, with a cup of tea from a friend I love, listening to music sent from a friend I love, and later give a call to the fella who holds my heart. We'll visit and wish we were together, just like every day, regardless of what Hallmark has to tell us.

Max; If I had a wish to give you, it would be this. That you keep your heart, and wait patiently for the day that she kisses you and knocks you so hard that you try to start the car with your house keys. It will come.

Love to all, despite the kid in Pampers with the archery equipment...Elle

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: katlaughing
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 10:50 PM

Some probably erroneous tidbits I received by email, today. I did not write them and make NO claims as to their veracity! kat

One superstition says that if a girl leaves her house early on Valentine's Day and the first person she meets is a man, then she will be married within three months (quite possibly to that particular man--depending on the guy, she may be better off just staying home).

Less romantic was the old historical opinion that Valentine's Day is a good day to prepare eels for the purposes of magic. Eating an eel's heart was once believed to enable a person to see into the future. I wonder if the vision of what's to come included a serious case of eel-induced food poisoning?

The lover's holiday has its beginnings in the 4th century B.C. in Rome. The Romans held an annual lottery wherein young men would draw a young woman's name from a box. The couple would be assigned to each other the entire year for entertainment and pleasure. This celebration, traditionallyheld on February 15, also included banquets, dancing andfoot races run in the nude.

Around A.D. 496, early church fathers sought an end to the pagan practice, but knew better than to upset the citizens by removing the lottery completely. Instead, they had teenagers pull the names of saints from the box. The teen was supposed to spend the year emulating that saint's life as much as possible, which was probably not as much fun as naked marathons. St. Valentine was chosen as the patron saint of the new event, and young Roman men resorted to courting females by sending handwritten notes delivered on February 14.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Amos
Date: 14 Feb 00 - 11:19 PM

JenEllen, .
.
You are a lady of uncommon insight and compassion. Send dear Max all the wishes you can..

Being without love is like being wrapped up in a rainbarrel. It is easy to fall into the belief that the universe is small and dank and sort of wooden. Anyone who can see the barrel from without, of course, knows better, but try telling that to the guy inside!..

Max, Mbo:

But most of all.....
When snowflakes fall.....
I wish you love........

A

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Feb 00 - 02:52 AM

I've heard it said that even more important to us humans, than to be loved, is to love.

Love.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: GUEST,Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 15 Feb 00 - 07:46 AM

Sometimes you have higher aims in love. Loving something so much you set it free, even though it kills you to do so. Or showing duty to the one who needs your love more than another. It is altogether too easy to run, much harder to stand your ground and do your duty; when do your duty you must. Love can be very painfull if taken too lightly. We can run to safety, but true love stays and would die, rather than run away. The secret is to love anway, but expect nothing in return. Some people love the myth of being in love; but in the real world love is not always kind, or returned. Once that is accepted, you can continue without fear, and enjoy life. I see that in stating the above I am echoing the words of Praise...Yours,Aye.Dave

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Feb 00 - 11:27 AM

Love is a decision, carried out, not a feeling. Love causes feelings, of many sorts.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Peg
Date: 15 Feb 00 - 11:43 AM

gee whillikers, it turned into a thread on love...go figure. Gentlemen, do not be bitter or lonely. I beg you. Be happy. Become infatuated with life. Allow your heart to skip a beat when you behold all that is wonderful on the planet. Become passionately entangled with all that is beautiful or exciting or quirky or calming. Lust after nature: become a stalker of romantic wild places. Fondly recall every smile aimed at you today, feel your chest thumping as you remember acts of kindness, witty words, suggestive jokes...conversation with others is a form of flirtation... and do not fear love. do not fear being hurt again, if you once were. Love makes us feel alive; love often brings pain. and that pain is just part of the package. Sally forth, as Pogo would say...resolve to meet the enemy and call it what it is: it is ours, it is us. each day brings something unexpected. wait for it.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Amos
Date: 15 Feb 00 - 12:17 PM

Peggy Pogo, sweetly said, enough to stir the heart of any man who breathes fresh air!

I'll brand your lessons on my brain pan for frequent reference.

Thnaks for the smiles.

A

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - Feb 14
From: Max
Date: 15 Feb 00 - 01:45 PM

Well said Peg. Only the righteous shall pass through this Web site.