Valentine’s Day.

In some ways, those two words that are supposed to mark the day when love conquers all can strike terror into the hearts of many men.

Let’s face it, folks, the majority of the male species is not well-versed when it comes to the mysteries of intimacy and romance, and the idea of finding something  — that perfect gift that will make our mate swoon and fall into our arms — is a foreign concept to the male psyche.

It’s not like there are not enough influences out there to help us out. There are jewelry ads for diamond pendants, earrings and the like, and commercials for flowers, cards and travel. But tell me, guys, how many of us can actually afford that glittering bling being spread across our TV screens or that romantic trip to wherever. For most of us, it’s flowers and candy and maybe dinner at a fancy restaurant.

And candy comes in all shapes and sizes. I recall working in a pharmacy when I was in college and we sold Valentine candy boxes, from $1.50 to $75 (I’m dead serious about that price). The $75 box would be one of the last standing, and eventually, before we closed some guy would come flying into the store and fork over the money for that humongous box of hard and soft centers and caramels.

Candy is the one thing I’ve never given my wife for Valentine’s Day. It’s a pact we made long ago when we were dating. She asked me to remove it from my prospective gift list and I complied. Seems to me I never gave candy to my girlfriend in high school, either.

I’m not going to go into how many Valentine’s Days my wife and I have been together, but suffice it to say that as the years have gone on it has been difficult at times to find that perfect item for my wife on this one special day. As special days go, Valentine’s Day ranks just below our anniversary and my wife’s birthday, and all three require some kind of special attention.

That’s what makes shopping for Valentine’s Day a challenge for me, especially because I want to surprise my wife with something nice. And since marriage has taught me that I’m no mind reader, it makes the challenge harder, especially since I’m in my usual situation of last-minute shopping. So I’m warning the shops on Washington Street now that I will at some point over the next couple days be downtown searching. Get some of your good stuff out.

At this point, I’m psyching myself up to take a long lunch break and begin the search to find the next perfect gift to surprise my wife Friday. I’ll make the rounds downtown and at some point, I’ll find what I’m looking for — usually something I looked at just a few minutes earlier. Over the years, I’ve been pretty lucky to find that something that tells my wife, “Happy Valentine’s Day” and brings a smile to her face. And like every year when Valentine’s Day comes, I’ll be holding my breath and hope my luck holds out.

 

John Surratt is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at john.surratt@vicksburgpost.com.