Hey guys,

Don't forget that February 14 is just a day away.

Failure to remember could result in a new status as a liveaboard.
(That's my wife definition of community property- should anything ever
happen to our marriage she gets the house, I get the boat). :-)

Some Valentines trivia:

There really was a Saint Valentine. He was a Christian priest in Rome.

In the waning days of the Roman empire, one of the emperors declared
that all young men would be required to serve in the legions before
being allowed to marry. Furthermore, each soldier returning from his
tour of duty woud be *guaranteed* a bride. To make the system work,
each time a group of legionaires was mustered out the names of all the
unmarried women in a community would be written on cards and deposited
in a box. As a soldier mustered out, he would draw a random card from
the box
(the very first cards associated with Valentine's Day). The veteran
was then awarded the young woman as his bride.
(Maybe that's where the expression "the luck of the draw" originated.
Some women would of course be much more desirable than others).

The emperor's edict depended upon a sufficient supply of
(purportedly) virgin brides to be awarded when Julius or Antonius came
marchin' home, so nobody was permitted to marry outside of the
emperor's compulsory service scheme.

The Christian priest, Valentinus, defied the emperor's rule and
married a number of couples who were ineligible according to the
official program but who declared they were "in love". This resulted
in Valentinus being offered free room and board in the dungeon while
he awaited his execution. While imprisioned, some young woman fell in
love with him (can't now remember whether it was the jailor's daughter
or the emperor's daughter- but the jailor's would seem more likely as
it would be unusual for an emperor's daughter to hang around the
dungeon). One year, Valentinus was hauled out and executed on the same
day they held the random drawing of names for marriage, February 14.
In his cell they found the letters from the young woman, and all
began, "My dearest Valentinus......", which would be rendered as
"Valentine" in the modern languages.