Valentine Daze

Commentary By T.W. Bill Neville

I remember how, in the third grade at St. Bridget's school, how I hated, what I called "VALENTIMES" DAZE. All because of Mary Jane Wagner insisting on giving me those "stupid", I "love" you valentines, while "nobody" else got any, from anyone.

Fortunately, my Mother, counseled me into relaxing and, that "this", too, would pass, and "it" did, so I was not "seriously'" deterred from "glandular" acceptance of the "real" purpose of the "DAY."

In fact, under the laws of today. I could have been cited for "harassment" by some of my Valentine targets. But, as you might suspect, all of these "hooligan" tactics faded away when "Cupid's" arrow struck me, and I joined that select group of going "steady" couples.

Now that my wife, one of the "steady's" is gone, I remember that with me being on the road for over 40 years, when I retired and we moved to Florida, I pledged 2 things. First I told her the story of Casey Stengel, the long time, over 60 years as a major League base ball Mgr., finally retired, and a New York Times reporter went to interview Mrs. Stengel.

Casey had this reputation of "off the wall quotes and stories: and the reporter wanted to know how Mrs. Stengel was going to cope with Casey being home all the time. She didn't hesitate a mini-second and fired back that she might have promised to "love, honor and obey, 'till death do us part"----"BUT i didn't marry him for LUNCH!"

Since I was "moving" my wife away from all her sons, daughter in laws, grand kids, sisters and a brother, this story was part of my sales pitch to get her to move to Florida in 1993. Fortunately for me, "lunch" was not "one" of the things i "pledged" to give up.

As I think more about those times, I believe my pledging to always "honor" her as "MY" ,one and only Valentine, on February 14, was a "clincher" for the 20 plus Valentine days in Florida before she passed,

NOW--------she's gone, and I'm back into my "VALENTIMES DAZE", with no one to "council" or "console" me.