by Dale Jones
Editor
Even as I type this, there are men all over Trussville, Clay and Pinson frantically trying to figure out one of life’s more difficult questions – “What should I get my significant other for Valentine’s Day?”
Yes, the day is upon us once again, and men everywhere are struggling to be creative.
Long gone are the days where guys like me could go with the standard flowers and candy and get away with it.
Oh no!
Here in 2016, so much more is expected of us, and the pressure is on.
How did it come to this?
What has caused the expectations of the love of our life to go from simple heart-shaped pieces of candy with the words “be mine” stamped across them to a diamond heart necklace from Tiffany’s, a $500 Coach purse or an evening in a renovated castle?
Listen, I even know a guy who bought for his wife a North Pole dogsled expedition.
Wait…what?
On the other hand, some girls don’t want anything. A few years back, I asked a gal to go with me to a Valentine’s Day dance and she told me she couldn’t be my valentine for medical reasons.
I said, “Really?”
She said, “Yeah, you make me sick.”
But over the years, I’ve tried to become more creative.
I once decided to grab my guitar and serenade my sweetie, under her window in the moonlight.
Attempting to be as romantic as possible, I went with those timeless lyrics penned by Beth Slater Whitson back in 1910:
Let me call you sweetheart, I’m in love with you
Let me hear you whisper that you love me too
Keep the love-light glowing in your eyes so true
Let me call you sweetheart, I’m in love with you.
I waited for her anxiously to come bouncing down the stairs, ripping the front door off of the hinges and jumping into my arms.
I waited…and waited…and waited.
Then I watched as her window opened and these are the words she sang back to me:
Let me call you sweetheart, I’m in love with you automobile
Let me hear you whisper that you’ll pay the gasoline bill
Keep those head lights burning and your hands on the steering wheel
Let me call you sweetheart, I’m in love with your automobile.
I could go on and on with story after story about attempts to impress the girl of my dreams far beyond flowers and candy.
Maybe I should have figured something out when I realized that every year I had a different girl of my dreams.
Bottom line is this guys – if your girl truly loves you, it won’t matter if you get her a trip to Belize or a gift card to Barnes and Noble. If she loves you, she’s going to love whatever you get her.
But don’t give her golf balls. Just trust me, don’t give her golf balls.
Until next week!