Red Hots
In
college, my boyfriend was in the service. We met for a Valentine's weekend
at a bed and breakfast for a much anticipated love fest!
It was going to be my first time, etc, i was so excited, nervous, etc.
i read some ridicuolous Cosmo article about "why don't you..."
, a list of romantic suggestions to please yo man, type of rubbish. I
eagerly devoured the sex tips, suggestions, etc. I was going to leave
a trail of red hots from the door to the b&b room, to the bathroom,
where I filled the tub with red hots, and was in sexy Victoria's Secret,
again, ridiculous poofy red feathery lingerie waiting by the tub. It takes
a LOT of red hots to even get an inch deep in the tub!!! bags and bags
and bags!!! don't try this at home, because it BURNS your dainty parts
like the devil!!! my boyfriend walked in to a trail of redhots, leading
to me, in a heap, red polka dotted like the love measles, crying
in a sticky heap, staining the snooty cat lady b&b woman's zillion
thread count sheetssheets and she charged his credit card for the red
polka dot stains.....sadly, not the picture of romance! although, my sister
delights in sharing this story with people when dinner conversation lulls,
so someone got something out of it!
by
Christine Scott
.....
Messenger
It
was Valentine's Day weekend five years ago, my first alone after the end
of my thirteen year marriage. It had been a rotten day. My sons
had called me earlier to tell me that their dad, whom I had divorced three
months earlier, had asked his new girlfriend to marry him and had given
her "the biggest diamond I ever saw, Mommy."
I was in San Antonio visiting my sister and I felt very alone. My sister
suggested we go clubbing. I agreed, but it was a disaster. We were walking
along the Riverwalk, back to my car. I realized it was just after midnight,
officially Valentine's Day. I was miserable, full of self-pity, telling
myself I was too old and too fat and too ugly and I was going
to be alone forever.
For some reason I looked up and I saw a man on the staircase coming
down from the street. He was looking at me. I looked back and we made
eye contact for a couple of seconds, then I walked on. My sister and I
cut through the lobby of a hotel and as we were about to exit onto the
street, a voice behind us said, "Excuse me, ladies. May I talk to
you a second?" I turned around. It was the man from the staircase.
He had followed us for at least a block or two. I knew for sure we were
about to be mugged and cursed myself for making eye contact with a stranger.
He came closer to me, looking into my eyes. He was smiling and his eyes
were soft and kind, putting me at ease. He spoke slowly and calmly, "I
saw you on the Riverwalk." I nodded. "I had to tell you - You
are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen." I blushed
and said thank you. We just stood there looking at each other. Then he
started backing up. I said thank you again. He said, " I just couldn't
let you leave without telling you." He winked at me, turned around
and walked away.
I
would like to say I went after him and now we are blissfully married,
but I didn't and we're not. I doubt he has a clue what a difference
he made with his simple act of romantic kindness to a stranger on
the street. Suddenly I was renewed and at peace with my life. I don't
believe he was trying to pick me up. I believe he was a messenger
from the wondrous Universe reminding me I was deeply loved and
supported on the journey I was beginning.
by
Sheryl
........
Flat
Alec
My
8 year old nephew Alec had this class project. First, the class had read
the book "Flat Stanley" then followed the concept. Every child
drew an outline of their body and then cut it out of paper and decorated
the this flat version of themselves.Then "Flat Alec" was folded
up and mailed to me. I was then to write back later and maybe include
some pictures of what "Flat Alec" did while he was here.
My sister selected me because I am known as the "creative one"
in the family. Feeling pressure, I wanted to come up with something really
great, however I was afraid I wasn't being creative enough.
By the end of the week, "Flat Alec" had gone trick-or-treating,
dressed as little lion. He partied one night and was swinging from the
chandelier-literally. He accidentally got folded with the towels one day
and went along shopping with me and his two cousins. He broke his arm
which we fixed up with a band-aid and did a lot of cuddling with my kids.
I included a whimsical letter and collage of photographs to document his
experiences. I then wished him well and asked him to come back and visit
sometime.
Now the part where the love comes in.
Alec is a very sensitive, creative, introverted and gentle boy. He is
quite reserved in class. When he got up to share his "Flat Me",
letter and photographs. Everyone in his class thought is was funny and
they were laughing (in the good way) and Alec, according to his teacher,
was "beaming". She asked my sister to thank me because of how
she saw Alec shine for the first time.
A few weeks later, when my sister was visiting the school, the teacher
was taking down all of the Flat Me projects. The teacher said that out
of all of the Flat Me's, the one I sent to Alec was her favorite because
Alec has not been the same boy since. He has started raising his hand
to respond in class and has become confident and charismatic.
This all just brings me to tears. I can be so doubtful of my own place
in this world, wondering if I actually make a difference in others lives
at all. When this happened it not only changed my nephews life, it changed
mine. I feel the need to share because I want others to know that we probably
affect others more than we even know. Knowing, it makes me want to love
more.
It would be important to know in this story that my sister and I both
grew up being painfully shy and reserved. We both know now that had someone
taken an interest in us, just once, pointing out that glimmering star
seed inside of us, our whole lives would have opened up and everything
would have been different. (I am 31 and it is only in the past few years
that I have truly started to figure it out)
by
Kariann
.....
Glowing
heart
In
December 1996, I had just started working as an environmental attorney
with a law firm in Tacoma, Washington. I grew up in the Southeast, but
had moved out to the Pacific Northwest in 1993 to attend law school in
Portland, Oregon.
My high school sweetheart and I, who were no longer dating due to the
3,000 miles between us, were still very close and very much in love. She
lived near Atlanta, Georgia, and was flying out to visit me that December
for the first time since I’d started working as an attorney. I was
really proud of my new job, which was my first “real” job,
and was excited to show her my new office. My office was on the 21st floor
on the east side of our office building, facing I-5 and the interstate
spur that came off of I-5 into downtown Tacoma. As you drove into the
city, you could see my office in our building if you knew which office
to look for.
She was flying in at about 9:00 p.m., so I knew it would be dark when
she arrived. On the day she arrived, I went to Home Depot and bought a
big 4-foot by 4-foot plywood board. I took it home and with a pencil I
drew a huge heart on the board. I then drove nails partly into the wood
about every three inches all the way around the heart. It was right before
Christmas, and I had also bought a bunch of strands of small, red Christmas
tree lights. I wound the strands of Christmas tree lights around and around
the heart, weaving them in and out of the nails. When I was done, I plugged
it in and was pleased to see a huge, glowing, red heart. I took it up
to my office, plugged it in, and propped it up in the window so that you
could see it from the interstate spur on the way into town, then left
to pick her up at the airport.
As we turned off of I-5 to head into downtown Tacoma, I pointed out my
office building to her and said “See if you can guess which office
is mine.” At that point, you really couldn’t see anything
out of the ordinary, but as we got closer, you could see a big, red heart
glowing in my dark window up on the 21st floor. When she saw it, she started
smiling and leaned over and hugged and kissed me. Right then, I felt as
loved as I ever have in my life, and I think she probably felt the same
way.
We then went up to my office and drank the bottle of champagne that I
had waiting there for us, looking out of my new office at the lights of
the city.
by Henry Webb