Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Cupid (1961)
 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) In this song, Sam Cooke enlists the help of Cupid, the Roman god of love, to help him get a girl. In Greek mythology, the god of love and lust has a different name. Do you know what it is? Eros.

 

2) Sam Cooke was inducted as a charter member into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The museum and hall are located in Cleveland, OH. Cleveland is proud of the six major museums featured on its website. When did you most recently visit a museum? Before Christmas, Elaine and I went to The Art Institute of Chicago to see a special exhibit: The Great Wave. We also checked out The Thorne Miniature Rooms, and they really bowled me over. And, maybe this is just a corny Chicago thing, but I got to pose in front of the Art Institute Lions, all duded up for Christmas.

 

3) Sam went to Wendall Phillips Academy, the same Chicago high school Nat King Cole attended. Can your high school claim any noteworthy alums? Just me.

4) "Cupid" was released in 1961. One of the major news stories of that year was the death of Ernest Hemingway. Have you read any of his works? Yes. I love the spare and clean prose. I'm not always fond of what he says, but I'm crazy about how he says it.

  
Since February 14 was Valentine's Day...

 
5) Sweethearts, those small heart-shaped candies printed with messages like "Be Mine" and "Kiss Me," are top sellers this time of year. Did you enjoy them as a child? Do you enjoy them now? Didn't like 'em then, don't like 'em now.

 

6) While Valentine's Day is popular in Mexico, it's celebrated a bit differently than it is here. For our neighbors to the south, it's a day for love and friendship, with no distinction between romantic, familial or platonic love. Do you tell your friends you love them? Or do you reserve "I love you" for your partner and family? I tend to find myself saying, "Love you, too." I wish initiating it came easier to me. I think we all need more love these days.

7) In Poland, Valentine's Day, or Walentynki, is often celebrated with a gift of "tea and sweets" -- a tin of black tea paired with candy. Do you more often drink tea or coffee? Tea. I hate coffee. No, really. I hate coffee.

 

8) One of London's top accounting firms did a study and reports that in England, Valentine's Day is a 52%/48% affair. 52% of the participants planned on buying at least one card or gift, while 48% did not expect to spend anything on Valentine's Day. This year, were you one of the 52% or the 48%? I was one of the 48%. But I worked at the card shop yesterday (see post below), so I assisted the 52%.

9) A similar study in Rome showed that today's young lovers would prefer to share a romantic experience on Valentine's Day – a stroll through the gardens of Villa Borghese was a popular choice – than exchange gifts. Would you rather do something memorable for Valentine's Day or receive something you can retain as a keepsake? I'd rather have a keepsake. Which is why, I suppose, my condo is overstuffed and overflowing with stuff.

 

 

 

Hooray for Love!

What I like best about my job at the card shop is the little glimpses customers give me into their lives. Today was the first Valentine's Day I ever worked and I enjoyed it thoroughly for the small part I got to play in their celebrations.

1. The solemn girl. She looked to be in junior high. We get a lot of girls her age in our store but usually they come in as a rowdy pack. This one was alone. She went carefully through the various displays throughout the store. I was surprised to see her lingering so long in the baby shower section before finally landing on a Jelly Cat,  a mother cuddling her duckling. Last one we had in stock. It came to $52 and change. She withdrew her zipper pouch and carefully counted out $55 in haphazardly folded bills. 

"One of my favorites," I told her as I put the stuffed duck in a bag. "Glad to know they're going to a good home."

"It's for my mom," she said with quiet pride. I was touched. It probably took her a long time to earn that money. I can't imagine the mother who would not love such a gift from her daughter.

2. The picky husband. This is a generalization, of course, but men just head to our Valentine display and grab a card with a heart on it. But not this hubby. Be perused. He ruminated. He settled on a card that was dotted with Sweetheart candies. "Be Mine," "Kiss Me," etc. But I could tell by the way he dropped it on the counter he was definitely settling. I asked him if he wanted to check out our overstock and produced a small wire basket filled with ones and twos. He was so pleased with the card he found there he actually shook my hand and thanked me for my help.

3. Budget Romeo. This older gentleman was struggling to find a Valentine gift he could afford. I was touched by how frank he was about this. I took him to our sale table. We had some paper poinsettias left over from Christmas, now $2.00 each. We agreed that since red is the color of Valentine's Day, they were just as appropriate in February as they'd  been in December. He was happy that his purchase was less expensive and more festive than a single Valentine card.

4. Cat Daddy. My favorite! This man was checking out our Valentine's table but wasn't excited about anything he saw. Still he kept circling. He was buying a gift for his boyfriend and just didn't like anything we had. I suggested that maybe he was going about this wrong. Instead of trying to make a conventional Valentine gift fit their unique relationship, maybe he should choose the right present and we'll just find a Valentine gift bag to put it in. Voila! Turns out his boyfriend is a cat lover. Well! I knew just where to steer him. He ended up with an "Ask Me about My Cats" desk name plate and a cat mug. Plus a Valentine gift bag and tissue paper (<<< incremental purchase, good for the store's bottom line). 

I love love. I'm just not especially good at it myself. So today gave me pleasure.

Photo by Naomi Irons on Unsplash