Christopher Hayes @chrislhayes
"Only 59 percent of Japanese said they had experienced love the previous day." http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-13/valentine-s-day-and-the-economics-of-love.html …
Now, if this is true it is truly sad. I don't think about love much, actually. I just take love for granted. I said Happy Valentine's Day to Terry and he said, "Oh, yeah, it's Valentine's Day, isn't it." He takes love for granted too.
I love my children, grandchildren and all their significant others. I love my friends, and I hope they know it. And I love Freddy. He has given me permission to post a picture of him, his favorite, with his man, Terry.Cousin Jerry, whom we love, took this picture. He is such an excellent photographer. This shows the relative importance of Terry and Fred in the mind of Fred. But we indulge him.
And here is my little lost love, Coco, at Cannon Beach, many many years ago. She died at age eighteen and is buried in the back yard behind the orchid house. I adored her wistful little look.
And here is a thought for these days when we tend to go on and on about our emotions and how full of feelings we are, Mystery's Song from Spensers Fairie Queene
I am come to lock all fast,
Love without me cannot last.
Love, like Counsels of the Wise,
Must be hid from Vulgar Eyes.
'Tis holy, and we must conceal it,
They profane it, who reveal it.
I could not find countertenor Alfred Deller's performance of Mystery's Song but did find this beautiful expression of grief, The Plaint, From The Fairie Queene. Oh, darn, now I'm getting all teary.
Have a wonderful and loving day with those you love and with the memories of those who loved and were loved who have passed on.
What a sweet baby dog! The cat photo left me cold.
Posted by: TheQueen | February 14, 2013 at 12:48 PM
Queen: Well, we all know how selfish and egotistical cats are, and Fred is no exception. But he does like to cuddle and shmooze, and that's a lot. He has a lot to say, as a matter of fact, and I wish I could understand him.
Posted by: Hattie | February 14, 2013 at 12:51 PM
Love - ly post! We certainly are blessed. Happy Valentine's and Happy Friendship Day!
Posted by: marja-leena | February 14, 2013 at 04:42 PM
People who are loved and loved back do tend to take it for granted. Those of us who aren't loved suffer in silence.
Posted by: Kay Dennison | February 14, 2013 at 04:59 PM
Marianna, Think you'd have tweeted at "One Billion Rising" if you'd been closer to the action? Me, I only posted videos and mentioned to the checkout folks at New Seasons. Another time maybe.
Posted by: naomi dagen bloom | February 14, 2013 at 06:03 PM
nice photos and I am very much a cat person but love dogs also. Your little dog pal was very cute
Posted by: Rain Trueax | February 14, 2013 at 06:16 PM
The well-regarded contemporary countertenor is DAVID DANIELS. It was actually HANDEL who wrote "Giulio Cesare."
Posted by: Henry Hank Chapin | February 14, 2013 at 06:52 PM
I'm suggesting that instead of thinking about romance on this day we think about love. That makes it a beautiful day to celebrate.
Posted by: Hattie | February 14, 2013 at 07:47 PM
Daniels' voice is wonderful and thrilling, but I think Deller's musicianship and especially intonation are hard to surpass. And in his best years his voice was sweet, too, whereas Daniels' has an edgy quality.
Posted by: Hattie | February 14, 2013 at 07:54 PM
Noami: There is a live feed for a One Billion Rising event in Kona, on the other side of the island. I saw some guys doing the hula!
I prefer my little celebration today.
Posted by: Hattie | February 14, 2013 at 08:25 PM
There are all kinds of love. Happy Valentine's Day.
Posted by: Brandon | February 14, 2013 at 09:00 PM
Brandon: Simple, isn't it. And yet so hard to convey. And Happy Valentine's Day to you, too.
Posted by: Hattie | February 14, 2013 at 09:45 PM
What a wonderful St. Valentine's Day post, Hattie! I like seeing photos of some of the beings you love most, too. Thanks for being the loving person I sense that you are.
Posted by: beth | February 15, 2013 at 08:28 AM
I think my longer, more important, post got lost. The David Daniels thing was me correcting myself so it makes no sense alone.
Posted by: Henry Hank Chapin | February 15, 2013 at 10:45 AM
Hank: That happens sometimes. Darn. I would like to have read the longer post.
Posted by: Hattie | February 15, 2013 at 10:49 AM
I was thinking in general of the way we do not have a real day to celebrate love. Valentine's is a romance day and limited in its scope.
Posted by: Hattie | February 15, 2013 at 10:52 AM
I'll try to briefly reconstruct my post that didn't get through, probably my fault. Here goes: Wow: I remember Alfred Deller, the first of the famous countertenors. Some people are taken aback and think a woman is singing, but that's the natural voice of a countertenor. I listened to Deller's records in college. It so happens our nephew, Francisco Negrin, is an opera director. He was doing Handel's "Giulio Cesare" in Los Angeles. On an inspiration and a whim, Helen and I flew to Los Angeles for a weekend just to see and hear the opera. Francisco's speciality is classical composers with edgy, avant garde, modern presentation. Therefore there was a nude bath scene, tastefully done of course, naturally, what else :-). The star was the contemporary countertenor, David Daniels. Also, one of the women singers was in "The Barber of Seville" with me here in Honolulu, so that was another incentive to go. This is not particularly a Valentine's Day story, escept that Helen and I were very companionable and we had a great time. For us, it was an adventure carried through without a hitch. Helen was my Valentine.
Posted by: Henry Hank Chapin | February 15, 2013 at 02:04 PM
Hank: Thanks for this. Somewhere I have original Deller recordings plus downloads on my I-Pod Nano. My sister got to hear him in person several times, but I was never that lucky.
Posted by: Hattie | February 15, 2013 at 02:10 PM