Of Hearts & Minds (& a Little Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez)

Since tomorrow's Valentine's Day, I figured that's the obvious thing to blog about today. But, as always, as I tend to ramble, these are random thoughts and will probably wander through various topics. So here goes ...
I've heard a lot more comments about Valentine's Day this year -- positive, negative, and just different. Seems like the holiday of love is provoking criticism from those who perceive it as a couples-only event. Some single people just have too much to complain about. While it's true that Valentine's Day is largely marketed for couples, it's not for-couples-only. It's an occasion for everyone to celebrate and express the love they have for special ones (I was gonna say "people," but I think some humans even extend it to their pets) in their lives. And while love is the major emotion we celebrate, Valentine's Day is also about expressing gratitude and just sending positive vibes out into the cosmos. So friends, family members other than spouses, co-workers, teachers/students, neighbors, that person who did something nice for you once whom you see around town every now and then -- any and all of them may be ones you want to acknowledge on Valentine's Day.
Or maybe not. In recent years, several libraries across the country have been sponsoring Anti-Valentine's Day programs for teens, where activities include things like decorating broken heart cookies, making anti-v-day cards, making black duct tape roses, watching depressing or horror movies, destroying/altering/rewriting romance novels, making gocks (goth sock dolls or puppets), and decorating with a lot of black. It's a way to help teens who aren't in a relationship or who just hate the whole commercialism surrounding February 14th.  But recently, a librarian posted on a listserv that her library got a complaint about its anti-v-day party. The complainant asked how anybody "can be opposed to love, kindness and friendship that is especially shared on Valentine's Day." She also said she was "appalled and very disappointed" that such a program was being held. (She obviously doesn't get teen angst surrounding romance.) In response to this librarian's post, another librarian posted that her library once got a complaint about their anti-v-day event, with the suggestion that they "should be teaching the teens about the Christian meaning behind Valentine's Day and taking them to nursing homes so they can learn the real meaning of love." (Yeah, right. That'd go over real big!)
And since Fat Tuesday is only a few days away, there's not much time left to "laissez les bon temp roulez"! So stuff yourself with chocolate and other goodies while you can -- that is, IF you're one of those who gives up vices or limits excesses during Lent.
So, in closing, HVD, HA-VD, and LLBTR!