Cupid's Poisoned Arrow

Is there a bigger trap for men then Valentine’s Day? I have it pretty good as Joyce, is pretty good about easing the pressure for this supposed one day to show someone you love them. Fortunately I am with someone who knows that I love her and doesn’t need me to send her a singing telegram with a Vermont Teddy Bear to her work to prove it.

As good as I have it now, I have not always been so lucky. I have had numerous bad experiences with this day. I know my brother has as well with my favorite story of his being when after getting blown off by some dame he threw a stuffed animal and some candy he bought for her out the window. Maybe I can get him to tell that story on his blog.

But I digress. For my own personal Valentine’s Day massacre stories I have two good ones. One was in 1990. I was working at Kmart and I was scheduled to be in at 5:30. My step-dad’s car was in the shop so, he was borrowing mine and it was getting to be a pain in the ass for both of us. So, when the shop called on Feb. 14^th and told him the car was ready, he came home and wanted to pick it up.

He got home around 5:00 and I told him I had to be at work at 5:30. It had started to snow and I really didn’t want to get stuck in it. But, we both figured we could make it and I could drop him off at the Shell where the car was on 63^rd and Harlem and go right to the Kmart on 79^th and Harlem without much of a problem. I took Harlem there and I saw how backed up the traffic was going south in the direction I was going to have to go to the Mart. So, after dropping Lou off, I figured it would be better to take 63^rd to Archer and then snake up side streets to Kmart to avoid the gridlock on the Harlem bridge.

Well, that would be a mistake. The snow was coming down harder and harder and 63^rd was moving about as briskly as a statue. What made matters worse was that I didn’t realize that I was running low on gas. I know I was just at a Shell but it didn’t dawn on me to look at the gauge until I got onto 63^rd. After I got about halfway down the street towards Archer it was getting close to the E. There were no gas stations around so I was stuck no mater what. On top of all this I was no going to be extremely late for work.

Eventually cars started to crawl and I eventually made it to the Bridgeview Gardens area and I drove there and snaked around until I hit the gas station on 79^th and Robert Rd. After re-fueling I eventually got to Kmart through some more back roads. By the time I got there it was almost 8 o’clock. I apologized to my boss who understood. As a matter of fact he had called my house and told me I didn’t need to come in. But, I wasn’t home to get the message and since these were the days before cell phones I had no way of knowing. So, I punched in to work that hour and a half.

My other Valentine’s Day horror story involves breaking up with my longtime girlfriend. I won’t go into all of the gory details but I will give the Cliff Notes version. It was 1994 and we had been dating for about four years. The last six months or so had been kind of rocky. We were fighting a lot. I had not been exactly honest with her about some things (OK, I had kind hooked up with this other girl at some point.) So, she got pissed and then started cheating on me.

Of course, I did not find out about it until Feb. 14^th. I had suspected it and when I found out I was livid. Even though she had forgiven me for my misdeeds I could not do the same. It was a while ago and of course all things worked out for the best but that night was not plesant. Arguing, name-calling, and screaming was the order for Cupid on that particular Valentine’s.

As for nowadays I have it pretty good, as Joyce and I will spend the night eating some Polish food and drinking cheap wine with friends. All in all I can’t really complain and I know I have it pretty good. Still, for some reason, I just can’t help but associate Valentine’s Day with unpleasantness.