Valentine’s Day comes in the middle of February but a few snowflakes, or even a blizzard, never stopped lovers from finding a way to get to where they wanted to get to. I have no idea who the anonymous couple is, though I’m sure he’s handsome and she’s beautiful, and I hope they enjoyed each other’s company and are living happily ever after. And you gotta love those high heels.
You’re probably aware that there are a number of saints named Valentine on a variety of lists, and you probably know that no saint, with or without the name Valentine, began the tradition of sending love notes to the beloved, or red roses, or cards printed with fanciful red hearts, or heart-shaped candies, or heart-shaped red boxes of chocolates, or even heart-shaped strawberries dipped in chocolate. We know all that. Nonetheless, we looked into Catholic Online and came across a section called Saints Fun Facts and clicked on St. Valentine. We read the fun fact that St. Valentine was a kind-hearted Roman priest who “aided young Christians being persecuted by Claudius II and was imprisoned. While in custody, he converted 46 members of a guards family to Christianity. Upon discovering this, Claudius sentenced him to death.” Frankly, I didn’t find much fun in those facts, especially the sentenced-to-death part.
So, to cheer us up, I’ve decided to post just a few more anonymous photos of lovers kissing. And please don’t destroy our cheer by telling us the photos are staged. Of course they’re staged, but that’s not the point. The point is to get you to leave your computer and go kiss someone you care for. Below is a photo which replaces the snow with lots of yellow flowers. Winter or summer, clearly the season doesn’t matter. Now scroll down for some acrobatic kisses. First, the bicycle kiss. And don’t try this unless you’re very experienced at riding a bicycle, good at judging distance and have fine reflexes. I admire how the young man has stamped his left foot on the front wheel, halting his bike at the last moment and causing it to rotate up, just as I admire the young woman raising up on tip-toe to meet him, confident that her friend has those wonderful bicycle abilities and won’t run into her.
And, of course, the handstand-at-the-beach kiss. I do like the couple pictured below — the serene welcome of the young woman and the exuberant display of affection by the young man. Indeed, there’s an exuberance about the kiss in both these photos and that’s a delight. Frankly, I have no idea how that young man got up into his handstand position and I haven’t figured out how he’s going to get down.