Hi Wayne,

That's an interesting take on That Fourteenth Day in the Month of
February. I made plans for that day too. Mine are simple. Work, Work
out, check e-mail and go to church.

We have a special speaker coming in, a Pastor from Beiruit, Lebanon.

Paul


--- In pugetsoundchristiansingles@yahoogroups.com, "Celebok"
<celebok@...> wrote:
>
> Since a lot of single people have been talking about it, or will be
talking about it over the next few days, I thought I'd take the time
to write my own take on that infamous fourteenth day of February that
seems to plague us every year whether we like it or not.
>
> First of all, what is that day? Officially, it's St. Valentine's
Day. But do most people even know what that means? Sure, I know that
there was a real person in history named St. Valentine and that
there's an inspiring story about some cool thing he did, but I
certainly don't know it off the top of my head, and I'm sure the
majority of the people who celebrate that day haven't got a clue.
Nevertheless, our romance-obsessed culture has somehow turned it into
this huge craze that completely invades our lives every year and is
impossible to get away from.
>
> Now, what's interesting is how the rest of us, those who don't have
someone to celebrate that day with, respond to the craze. A lot of
singles like to have an Anti-Valentine's Day or a Black Day--Black
Wednesday, in the case of this year. They round up as many other
single people of their gender as they can and get together, possibly
wearing black, and basically have a sour-grapes-fest, where they
celebrate their declared lack of need for the opposite sex. Believe
me, I know--I've done it myself. And looking back, I can say that for
a guy like me who's not a goth-type, wearing all black just makes me
look like an idiot. But hey, if you really want to get together and
celebrate your independence, that's perfectly fine. I just don't
think it makes much sense for guys to just suddenly decide they don't
need a woman on that one day of the year, and then the very next day
they're checking out cute girls walking down the sidewalk on their
way to work.
>
> As for me, I do take pleasure in my independence, but I can
celebrate that every day of the year. So for me to take the time out
of my regular life on that one day to hang out with a bunch of single
guys, for no reason other than in response to somebody else's
holiday, would be a waste of my time. The way I see it, if
Valentine's Day makes a bunch of single people do stuff that they
wouldn't normally do in order to make themselves feel better, then
the terrorists...er... couples have won. Remember, it's their
holiday; if you try to take it from them and make it your own, you'll
lose. Choose your battles wisely.
>
> Another common term that's been floating around for the last
several years is "Singles Awareness Day". (SAD?!?) I guess that's
supposed to be a more positive spin on the Anti-Valentine's Day
concept. But in reality, it's even more pointless. Why on earth would
you want to have an "awareness" day on the last day of the year that
couples would want to be "aware" of anyone but each other? On
February 14th, the only people that are going to be aware of any
singleness are the singles themselves. That defeats the purpose of an
awareness day, which is to get other people aware of your cause. I'm
already quite aware that I'm single; I don't need to be more aware.
And having Singles Awareness Day the day after the 14th doesn't help,
either. It's still obvious that you're reacting to Valentine's Day. A
true Singles Awareness Day, if there really needs to be such a thing,
should be completely initiated by singles, not in reaction to
anything. Pick a day in August, since that month seems to be devoid
of holidays.
>
> So then, what's left for us as singles to do and what to call the
14th of February? Exactly that: The Fourteenth of February. It's not
our holiday; why stress out about it? Let the couples worry about
what they're going to do, and we can live our lives as normal.
Businesses are open as usual--we're not like Jewish people having to
eat Chinese food on Christmas because everything else is closed! Of
course, if you do have some great ideas for that day, then that's all
the better. One thing that I've done before, and may try again this
year, is to eat out somewhere (Ruby's) and then leave a Valentine
card for the waitress, along with the tip. Maybe you know someone
who's recently been widowed and is spending their first Valentine's
Day alone in several years. But if you don't have any ideas in mind,
then that's okay, too. Just imagine what you would be doing on that
day if it wasn't Valentine's Day... and then do that! How could it be
any simpler? I know that after I come home from dinner that night,
since it's a Wednesday, I'll be watching "Lost", which is something I
look forward to every week anyway (now that it's finally started up
again).
>
> So whatever you choose to do on the 14th of February next week, I
hope it turns out to be a good one. If you'd rather sit at home and
complain about how depressing it is that you have no one to go out
with, then that's fine by me. Just don't tell me about it. Please.
>
> --Wayne
>
>
> ===========================================
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>