A kaleidoscope OF LOVE

aybe it’s my age, the glum weather typical of February or a healthy cynicism, but my feelings towards Valentine’s Day have become increasingly negative over the years. It started almost imperceptibly with mild irritation at the infantile schmaltziness of it. All those little teddies and red heartshaped balloons had started to make me feel faintly queasy. I began to feel increasingly manipulated by the commercial world, who it seemed were pulling my strings every month from Mother’s Day to Halloween with one thing or another. From overpriced bouquets to restaurants charging a premium to dine out on that overblown occasion, it had