It’s Valentine’s Day!  That day we set aside every year to raise the price of roses and flood the airwaves with jewelry store commercials to guilt guys into doing something romantic.  Oh, I’ve done my fair share of romantic things over the years.  In elementary school, writing “Love, Tim” on the back of 24 single-page Valentines to hand out to my 3rd grade classmates and some of the neighborhood kids.  We were so young then.  Writing was new. I remember to this day, getting one from Kelly Toman down the street, signed, “Form, Kelly.”

Now, this whole Cupid thing. Maybe it comes with age, but the idea of a guy wearing a diaper, running around and shooting at people isn’t what it used to be.

Over the years, through broadcasting and advertising, I’ve been on the other side of the holiday, using it for promotions or sales.  Probably the edgiest use of the holiday was back in my KQOT days in Yakima, when we offered our listeners the chance to spend Valentine’s Day watching a romantic movie for free if they simply wore a heart with the call letters, KQOT, written on it.  Yes, all we asked was that you had a heart on for KQOT.

I was young.

These days, because Valentine’s Day is the first holiday of the year to market, you start to see hearts and cards popping up in the stores the day after New Year’s.  God help us, should we ever decide to start selling MLK weekend or Ground Hogs Day.  I stopped by a Fred Meyer yesterday and there, next to a stripped aisle that formerly held hearts and things that are red, was a stack of green decorations ready for St. Patrick’s Day.

The holidays are stacked up, ready to land, one right after the other.  Let’s not get all caught up in the commercialism that has taken them over, but rather savor the simple meaning of the day and celebrate love.

Then, tomorrow, act on that love and buy her something for 50% off.

No, I don’t give romance lessons, but thanks for asking.

Somewhere, I have several friends saying right now, “Oh, that Victoria.  She’s such a lucky girl!”

Tim Hunter