Of Slings and Arrows...

I saw Cupid flying around the other day and he didn't look too happy.

I was out shoveling snow yet again when I saw him and he was kinda cold and kinda shivering. You'd think by now he'd know better than to fly around in February in his skivvies. I mean, look at Santa - there's a dude that knows how to dress for winter. Of course his girth requires a sleigh and eight reindeer just to get him off the ground while ole' Cupid just has to flap his wings and hang onto his bow and arrow.

So tomorrow is the day for romance and roses. Apparently roses became a thing in the 1600's as people tried to emulate Venus - the Goddess of Love - who had a thing for flowers and roses in particular. She thought they stood for strong feelings and so people began to start giving roses to

show their love. From there its morphed into what it is today where Americans spend about $2 billion on valentines day flowers with 250 million roses produced just for this special day. 

Of course chocolate and candy are also important on this special day adding an additional $1.8 billion in the U.S. That's a whole lot of sweetie sweetness getting doled out. Interestingly, Americans also spend almost $900 million on Valentines gifts just for their pets. Anyway, you get the idea that this day of love translates to big business - in total, we'll rack up more than $20 billion in Cupid-related spending. I wonder if Mister Cupid is getting a cut of the action. I hope so - given his advanced age I hope he has a robust 401(K).

And what of the little guy himself? Cupido in Latin means passionate desire and mythology suggests

that Cupid is the offspring of our aforementioned love Goddess Venus and Mars, the God of war. Well, they do say opposites attract. Love and War, the proverbial Yin and Yang of human civilization. One of my dear friends perhaps puts it more succinctly - "happy wife, happy life" or perhaps to be more politically correct - "happy spouse, happy house". 

Here's a Cupid quiz - what kinds of arrows does Cupid carry? It is said that he carries two types of arrows - one with a sharp golden point and one with a tip made of lead. When struck by the golden arrow one is filled with 

uncontrollable desire whereas a strike with the leaden tip fills  one with aversion and a desire to flee. Way (way, way) back in the day Apollo, among other things the god of archery, taunted Cupid on his bow and arrow skills to which Cupid replied by promptly shooting Apollo with the golden arrow but then strikes the object of Apollo's newfound desire - Daphne - with the lead one leading Daphne to want to have nothing to do with the very handsome, but now rather bothersome Apollo. Unwilling to put up with Apollo's unwanted advances Daphne prays for relief from her father - the river god Peneus - who turns her into - what else (this is after all Greek mythology) - a tree. And from there it was all downhill for poor Apollo, at least as far as love is concerned. 

Here's hoping YOUR valentines holiday goes much smoother than poor Apollo's. Flowers and candy -

there are worse ways to enjoy a holiday. And hey, where would we all be save for romance? There are not a lot of flowers blooming in my neck of the woods this time of year but still, I do appreciate a beautiful blossom. Here's a special Valentine's Day wish from our garden to yours. May your days be merry and bright... oops, wrong holiday. Lets try that again with something I'll be sharing with my wife:

Roses are red

Violets are blue

The best day of my life

was when I met you