Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Since yesterday was Valentine's Day, and since many people will be celebrating the holiday either tonight or this weekend, I'll share some Valentine's Day related found items.

First is a Valentine I found this morning while walking our doggie, Una. It says "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY & 100th Day of School To: Third Grade From: [Name]." They're little index-sized cards, clearly printed out by a teacher on card stock and intended for the students and then colored by a student.

While these cards were addressed to the entire Third Grade, someone received this and apparently was dissatisfied with the Valentine, tearing it in fourths. But then again, who wants to celebrate the 100th day of school?

Also found this morning is a note to a loved once which seems to be part of a lovers' game. It consists of a piece of pink paper with scalloped edges, glued to a rectangle of white card stock. On top of the pink sheet of paper is glued a purple piece, also with scalloped edges, that appears to be an attempt at a heart. The purple "heart" says "Has b33n Op3n3d." The note writer has a bad habit of substituting the number "3" for the letter "e," which might indicate they do a lot of texting.

The pink piece of paper reads:

        You scor3d free
        points by showing
        m3 lov3
        forcing me to giv3
        it back no on3
        no other abov3
        Having this last chance
        to show my love is
        tru3 3 minut3s l3ft on
        th3 clock I'd giv3 it all to
        you.

I'm guessing that this is part of some sort of game between the couple, where they score points by doing nice things to each other. Perhaps this note was placed inside something the beloved was likely to open, hence the notation "Has b33n Op3n3d." Then again, maybe the numbers actually mean something, and it's the clue for a Valentine's Day treasure hunt. If so, the receiver of the note must have already figured it out, or they'd probably be holding it and pondering it still!

This next item is one of my all-time favorites. It's a simple love note, presumably passed directly to the beloved. It reads, "After The Loven I'm still in Love with You".

The meaning is pretty clear: the note writer wants the beloved to know that their love is not just physical. It's a simple sentiment, succinctly expressed.

But what makes this found item sublime is what the note writer chose to write on. The other side of the note is a page from a daily desk calendar, the type that has a new thought every day. This particular one is Bible-based and reads:

              Thursday, February 22, 2007
              Gospel Reading: Matt. 16: 13-19

     "'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter said in reply, 'You are
       the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'" (Matt. 16: 15b-16)

             My Offering to God:
           will pray for those who teach
            others about Jesus Christ.

In the margins is a column of letters, with some of them checked off:

            M --
            K --
            J --
            S
            T --
            Joeann --
            P --

So what's really going on here? What does the list indicate? Are they all perhaps people who were to receive love notes? If so, why do it a week after Valentine's Day? And the note on the other side, was that the message they'd all receive?

Or perhaps this was a sheet of paper, originally used for the purposes of the mystery checklist and then kept in the writer's pocket. Maybe in a quiet moment — perhaps in church — the note writer pulled it out and scribbled the love note, passing it to the beloved. If so, that could indicate why the note writer wrote around the torn corner. Presumably, the paper got beaten up wherever it had been kept.

Whatever the true story of this note, I still think it's hilarious to write a semi-sexy love note on the back of a page from a Bible desk calendar.

Love was on the mind of whoever wrote down the lyrics for this love song.

Part I
Look in my eyes was do you
see only me
Got nuthin hide seek and your
find wat's on my mind
This happen so fat not part
plan
so am leavn my heart in your
hand

Chorus
Have I told you just how much
I love you
Only by dreams and I show
my feelings
Have I told you just how much
I love you
Time for relevan and I will
give you somethin to love
from me to you

Part 2
Look in my eyes you knew
me so well
can't you tell oh Baby
way into deep am going down
so catch me now
This happen so fast not part
of my plan
So I am leavn my haert in
your hand

Chorus Repeat

I feel you
Everday I breathe you
Every single movement from
the start@

I see you
Constantly
I feel you.

At first, I thought these might be lyrics to a popular song, but given the many grammatical errors, I suspect they might have been composed by whoever wrote them down here. I hope the writer was able to serenade his or her beloved, even without these lyrics in hand.

Now Valentine's Day isn't just about romantic love, as many friends have recently reminded me. And so I include this next item, which is a simple note, presumably passed during school. It's a sheet of notebook paper, folded in half, with the name of the recient written on the front. Inside, it reads, "You are a really great friend."

Maybe the recipient was having a bad day, or feeling lonely and unloved. Either way, the note writer wanted the recipient to know someone cared.

The next item is a note written on notebook paper, with a background of purple hearts. It's an effusive love note from a child to his or her family:

             I Love My
             Best Family
             Day Make
                   Me
             Happy
             I Love You
             Dad anm
             The Best
             Family

The message is followed by a series of 15 hand-drawn hearts.

Now, technically speaking, I suppose this is a Family Day note (is there such a holiday?), not Valentine's Day. But with 15 hearts, it certainly deserves to be included.

The note contains a slight mystery: the line "Dad anm." Was this a mistake for "Dad and Mom"? Or maybe "Dad and Marge" or maybe the grammatical mind-twister "and am" or just "and"? Only the writer knows? In the exuberant good feeling that brought about this note, grammar clearly went out the window.

For those of you who aren't sure how they feel about all this Valentine's Day stuff, I offer a little game. At least, that's what I assume it was. I found a folded piece of notebook paper, with the word "PUSH" written on the front.

Inside, the sheet of paper is divided into four quarters, each of them labeled with one of four words: "Mary," "Like," "Kiss" and "Love."

It looks like a game where you ask an unsuspecting person — perhaps your intended? — to push somewhere on the front. Then you make note of where they pushed, and you that to correspond to the words inside, so that if they pushed on the upper left-hand corner, they want to "mary" you, and if they push on the lower right-hand corner, they love you.

Of course, if I'm right, there are numerous problems with this game, practically speaking. First of all, it's far too open to interpretation, as far as where someone's answer should end up. Then, of course, there's also that big circle below the word "Push," which most people would press, and which would put the answer somewhere between "Kiss" and "Love."

And most importantly, any girl who trick a grade-school or junior-high school boy into doing this game is far less likely to have him kiss or "mary" her than to have him running off, shrieking.

So with that happy thought, I leave you with a pink heart, probably off a Valentine's Day gift, which I also found this morning. Whoever received it didn't value it as much as whatever gift it came attached to. I, however, find it pretty.

Copyright 2008 by Alyce Wilson

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