February 16, 2004 - Lovely Weekend

One of my gifts to him came from a local store that bills itself as a "romance boutique." The proprietor calls himself Mr. Romance and has a signed portrait of Montel Williams from when he appeared on his show to talk about how to keep the romance alive.

This gift is a silk bag filled with 52 cards — one for every week of the year — which you're supposed to take turns drawing out each week. Some are for the man to read, and some for the woman, and they all contain romantic things to do for the other person.

The Gryphon drew one first, but it was for the woman to read. I was supposed to take a shower first in the morning and then write "I Love You" on the mirror in soap. He appreciated it, as I knew he would. This is going to be fun.

Mr. Romance was an interesting guy, and a chatty one, too. I was the only person in his small store, and he talked to me about his store and how he tries to bring romance to couples.

He told me a story, for example, of an elderly couple who came to the store. The man was clearly uncomfortable and just sat on a chair the whole time while the woman browsed. But the man took one of his flyers and wrote on the back of it a note, thanking him for the store and for his cheerful, good-natured help!

As I was checking out, Mr. Romance talked to me for awhile about Valentine's Day and relationships. He said that he would never date a woman who had a dog because he would have to compete with the dog for affection.

I have to admit, I know what he means. My doggie, Una, goes through fits of jealousy at times when The Gryphon visits. And yet, she also whines and cries when he leaves. She was in for a difficult weekend, in doggie terms.

On Saturday, the big day, The Gryphon and I visited the Rodin Museum, which was a great way to spend a morning. There are some fantastic works in there, with some of the earlier ones, like The Age of Bronze, being my favorites. We discovered an unanticipated irony: Rodin's wife, who posed for many of his works, actually died on Valentine's Day.

After the museum, we had a little time to kill before the movie we had planned on seeing, The Cooler, which was playing at the Ritz at the Bourse. We had some coffee in Cosi's, chatted, and people-watched.

To my left was a guy who looked like a young Leonard Cohen, typing away on a laptop. He was wearing a gray sweater and a terrible pink and aqua madras shirt. I found myself wondering if he was writing a novel, or simply some mediocre poetry.

To my right was a young couple, speaking in Russian, and reading aloud poetry to each other. They seemed the athletic, outdoorsy type. I imagined that they had stopped in Philadelphia as one of the many stops on a hike across the Northeastern U.S.

The Cooler, as it turned out, was a pleasant surprise. We had decided to see it because it promised to be a good film, but as it turned out, it was also a romance. William H. Macy plays a "cooler," a guy with such bad luck that a casino owner, Alec Baldwin, hires him to stand next to people who are winning, so that they'll begin to lose.

But then he finds an unlikely love with a casino waitress, and his luck changes. Then again, when your job is to be unlucky, this is a mixed blessing.

After the movie, we ate at Karma, formerly known as Shivnanda, at 114 Chestnut Street. The restaurant has changed from a traditional Indian place to contemporary Indian cuisine, with an appropriate change in the decor from traditional to modern.

The four-course meal was absolutely delicious, and they even gave me a rose.

Then it was back to my place to exchange presents. I must say, it was my most romantic Valentine's Day ever.

On Sunday, we took in 50 First Dates, which I'd really wanted to see. The movie was a lot of fun, and surprisingly sweet. The Gryphon said it's on his short list of Adam Sandler movies he's actually liked.

And because my doggie, Una, had had such a rough weekend of being ignored and left alone, we took her for an afternoon walk and then ordered out so we could stay at home with her.

Today, we even got her a bone, gave it to her and told her, "Happy Valentine's Day." She's a dog. She won't know we were two days late.

Moral:
Chocolates and roses make for a great Valentine's Day, but the company is the most important part.