Recyling country style
By PAT WICK
© Another Day in the Country
With Valentine's Day coming on a pace, a young girl's fancy naturally turns to love. Well, perhaps love is too strong a word! It's more like courtship and romance — two concepts that seem sadly absent in our current state of sexual liberation.
Courtship is similar to an invitation to dance and romance is a thrilling, disorienting, sometimes dangerous roller-coaster ride for the single-minded. For some odd reason, the feminine gender seems to have a heavier dose of this romantic gene than their male counterparts.
When I used to teach a college class called "Marriage and Family," I attempted to teach the youngsters under my tutelage some of the finer points of romance. They were young and eager to learn. I enlisted the help of an old friend of mine who, even at the age of 85, was one of the most romantic men I'd ever known. He shook his head at my attempts to teach and said with a chuckle, "Either you have it, Pat, or you don't."
You see, I disagree! I think we all have these nurturing, daring, creative ideas about how to please someone we care for; however, we're either afraid to act or too complacent.
A little groundwork is important. There are just some things you need to know in order for your action to hit the intended mark. If you don't pay attention to the object of your affection, you could find yourself in deep water. Believe me, now is not the time to buy a car vacuum, a snow shovel, or that stereo you've been coveting. If you look and listen, you'll know what will please someone's heart — and hey, the looking and listening are not only enjoyable, but very flattering.
Sitting with a group of women, I asked them about their first brushes with romance. "Do your husbands do special things on Valentine's?" I wanted to know. My little random interviews have confirmed what I suspected — most men don't go out for Valentine's Day. They may send flowers or bring gifts at other times of the year, but Feb. 14 is just another day on the calendar.
As questions flew, we discovered some old-time rules which applied to courtship. Marge's dad instructed her on the dating game 50 years ago by insisting that she accept an invitation from only one boy per 24-hour period.
Another piece of advice was, "play the field." However, when several local boys came calling, he reminded her of the lyrics of a popular song of the era and said, "Remember, now, 'Don't let everybody call you darlin'."
Even after 50 or 60 years, first boyfriends were often most memorable, in our trek down memory lane. "When I was a freshman in high school, my boyfriend was Alvin Reik," says our Aunt Naomi. "He was the nicest guy. I could never quite figure out why he singled me out — I didn't think I was the prettiest girl around, or the most talented, but he chose me. He brought me my first box of chocolates — and it was a BIG one. I'll never forget him."
Well, there you have it! You want to be memorable, gentlemen, "bring chocolates." At any age, a girl loves to receive candy! It's that "sweets for the sweetest," thing, I guess.
It's another day in the country and I can feel a trip to Russell Stover's candy outlet coming on. See you there!
