Amore - Only the lonely

If ever there was a date that spelt dread for singles, it’s February 14th. But it doesn’t have to be that way – now’s the time to make a move. Or you could just hang out with your parents..

Valentines Day can polarise people in the same cruel or kind manner that Christmas does. Just as those gathering around Christmas trees with family and friends to unwrap presents holds a cruel mirror up to the socially marginalised, a February 14th celebration of romance is anathema to the lonely and broken hearted.

Even emergency services keep an eye on the date with a mind to various passions being unleashed for the worst.

Many will rail against the day’s wanton consumerism and argue that any noble sentiment once attached has been lost in a grubby age of narcism and selfish unions.

 

“I refuse to buy flowers on Valentines Day,” says Gary, a 41-year-old mature age science student at Sydney University. “I don’t want to jump on a moneymaking band wagon.”

Ideologies from Feminism to Islam and Communism to Buddhism no doubt also have their issues with the day, while for billions on the planet this cultural quirk is virtually unheard of.

Yet there will always be a suspicion that those most critical of the day – especially singles – are hiding at least a skerrick of lament.

And if we agree that men and women are different in physiology and motivation, is it safe to also assume a lonely February 14th affects the sexes to different degrees and in different ways? Is romance more a means to an end for the guys and more an end in itself for the girls?

For those unwilling to conceal their frustration, a pro-active approach to the day offers a cornucopia of possibilities, especially with emotions running high.

Jump online and you will find a plethora of singles functions, speed dating events, harbour cruises and the like.

Now could be the ideal time to shoot off a quiver full of Cupid’s arrows in the form of cyber initiations on a dating site. On February 14th singles will eat, sleep, argue, brawl, laugh, cry, gamble, drink (too much), watch porn (or “Sleepless in Seattle”), text their ex or visit a brothel.

They might even hang with their parents.

Only the individual will know to what degree the specific date has been the motivation for their activities.

In an ideal world, the best sentiments of Valentines Day would be adhered to all year round.

But since we don’t live in that world, February 14th is as good a day as any to show your gratitude for having someone special in your life.

That goes for you too Gaz.

 

■ Jason Dunne