St. Valentine's Day

It's difficult to find the true story behind St. Valentine (apparently there were 3 of them), and his day. Was he a martyr, a lover, or a religious zealot? Was he tortured under the direction of Roman Emperor Claudius? Was he decapitated? Was he in love with a prison guard's daughter, and did he send her a note signed "Your Valentine." I think I like the last version the best. Anyway, I took a photo of the Valentine that my little Valentine, Sachi, gave me this morning. I also got chocolates from my other Valentine, Minako, and from a neighbor lady.

A neighbor lady! Am I having an affair? No. The lady hung the Valentine chocolates on our front door as a kind of apology for asking to give my daughter a ride without having a child seat in her car. This happened the other day. It was a spur of the moment thing, when we were all heading out at the same time in the morning. We politely declined while casually mentioning the lack of a car seat. To me it was an minor inconsequential event. I wouldn't have remembered it if not for the chocolates. This is the kind of hyper-polite response that only happens in Japan. Yet another St. Valentine's story.