My father and Mamka were both born in February. Theirs is no red hearts or bouquets of roses in this Valentine's love story. (There was no such celebration under communism) No boxes of chocolates, no romantic rhymes, no pricey jewelry. There was just a lifetime of happy moments shared by Jozef Imrich and Maria Pecharcikova, old sweethearts. They met before the World War two and celebrated their 50th year of marriage after the collapse of the Cold War. My father, however, never saw my girls in real life. This is why I am very grateful to the pioneers who made it possible that at least he was able to see them in the virtual life before he passed away in 1992. In Vrbov Love was blind to the concept of lifetime
Imagine there's Love; It's easy if you try: Kiss me, Cupid
Is it just a conspiracy of florists and chocolatiers or has the universal day of love got us hooked? If The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown wrote a book about the secret origins of Valentine's Day, it would go something like this:
Take an ancient pagan fertility festival called Lupercalia. Add one Christian church that tries to undermine the festival (boo, hiss). Throw in a secret organisation of, er, florists, chocolatiers, sky writers, greeting-card sellers, condom manufacturers and makers of small, embarrassing fluffy dolls, all dedicated to keeping its erotic and romantic traditions alive. Blend in generations of love-struck fools ready to write classifieds such as "Dear Pookie Wookie, will you be my little love marmoset forever", and you have the mass hallucination known as Valentine's Day.
• Saint Valentine: Martyred For love ; [A delightful love story. ; Where love is spread]
