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 Valentine’s
Day!
Kids love it, young women are starry-eyed,
And there’s never been a writers’ strike in the greeting card
industry.
Most Americans claim they haven’t lost their capacity for romance,
even in an era of increasing skepticism about marriage and long-term
relationships.
The odds are about 50/50 for anything lasting more than five
to ten years.
Though Valentine’s Day remains a romantic tradition, its origins do
seem a bit murky. There’s a saint or two involved, and several
martyrs along the way.
Still its strong association with romantic love, dates all the way
back to the third century.
.
No matter “what the future brings” Dooley Wilson sang, “it’s the
same old story.”
The oldest known Valentine (1415 AD) is on display in a British
museum, a love poem from the Duke of
Orleans -- imprisoned at the time in the Tower of London -- to
his wife in France: “get me out of here?”
According to Hallmark research, some 180-million Valentines are now
exchanged annually, not including the untold numbers of paste-up
jobs in grammar school classrooms. Youngsters between 6 and 10 years
old trade more than 650-million a year.
February 14th has always been a “love in” marketing bonanza! .
Retailers expect to rack up 650-million dollars in .pastries, red
roses, candy hearts with messages, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates,
cuddly stuffed animals and jewelry. It’s the most profitable gold
rush next to Christmas and Mother’s Day.
Expect. too, a surge in the U.S. Mails. The post-office in Loveland,
Colorado works overtime with requests to re-mail cards, letters and
packages. Other romantic post-marks include Valentine, Nebraska,
Valentine, Texas, Loveland, Ohio, Loveland, Oklahoma, and Loving,
New Mexico.
Printed declarations of love, for a price, fill special sections of
many newspapers, devoted to personal Valentine messages.
Last year, New York Newsday filled 10 full pages in an “All you need
is love” edition February 14.
To Babycakes. My Cuban baby. Snookie. Smooch. Fancy Face. Froggy
Prince. Bunny. Spunkie. Pumpkin. Hot Stuff.
..
No, I didn’t make these up.
And, of course, February 14 in Las Vegas, which proclaims itself
“Wedding Capital of the World” is Viva Valentine’s Day.
Every year, it’s by far the most popular date for marriages, sort of
a romantic spinning of the wheel. trying your luck outside the
casino.
No blood tests; no wait to obtain a 50-dollar license.
More than 50 chapels line the strip, Start Trek weddings in the
Stratosphere room, ceremonies aboard a Pirate’s ship at Treasure
Island, Elvis weddings.
One professional singer has performed as Elvis at 20 weddings and
two as King Tut.
And then there’s the “Little White Wedding Chapel” with its
drive-thru marriage window. Please step out of the car for a
pictures. This will only take a few minutes.
“By the power invested in me by the state of Nevada and the Motor
Vehicle Bureau…
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Gene Farinet, an award winning veteran newsman, spent much of his long
career at NBC News as a writer and producer working with Frank McGee,
Ed Newman, John Chancellor and Tom Brokaw, covering space, politics
and special projects everywhere in the world.
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