It's Valentine's Day, y'all! (and I suppress a gag)

I really, really hate Valentine’s Day.

I’m not one of those people who’s all “I’m single, so I hate Valentine’s Day.” No, I just really, really hate it. Even on those select V-Days when I’ve been coupled up, I’ve still hated it. It’s a totally contrived, commercial holiday designed to either a) make you feel like sh*t ‘cause you’re single, or b) make you feel like sh*t ‘cause you’re not spending enough money on your significant other. I refuse.

For serious – shouldn’t you make your SO feel special all the time? Aren’t the best relationships the ones where you realize that it’s 2 o’clock on a Tuesday, and you’re buying gas and you see that obscure flavor of Mountain Dew that your guy just loves, so you buy it for him? Or, your wife gets home after a rough day at work, and you give her a foot massage?

I’m just saying, if I’m ever in a relationship where we don’t worry about making each other feel special until Hallmark-approved “holidays,” I’m thinking that’s a pretty crappy relationship.

So, for fun:

5 ways to get through Valentine's Day without looking like a total jerk

The History Channel on V Day

How Al Capone celebrated

TV's most eligible bachelors

A brief history of great love letters, some leading to castration

And, finally, dead guys to whom I'm strangely attracted: Warren Oates, Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Zebulon Vance and Averell Harriman.