#698 Anti-Love

Here it is February already. Spring is just around the corner. And with spring, thoughts of love.
We got all your loving holidays this month. Except they aren’t really holidays because we don’t get to take a day off with any of them.
There’s Groundhog’s Day for all you rodent lovers. Mardi Gras for those whose thoughts of love turn to thoughts of abandon. And, of course, there’s the traditional Valentine’s Day, where we massacre one another with an affectionate over-abundance of heart-stopping calories.
St Valentine’s, by the way, is not only the patron saint of romantic love, but also of beekeepers.
It’s true, Honey.
He’s also the saint that protects you from fainting. Must be an exceptionally conflicted saint up in heaven when someone goes into a lover’s swoon.
The only holiday we do get off this month is President’s Day. A not very romantic holiday at all when you get right down to it.
Here’s a suggestion: It’s not so far from the day we really love, super bowl Sunday. If we started the NFL season a little later, we could have a 3-day holiday come super bowl Sunday.
We could even use the super bowl to educate people on presidents. Do a little on screen graphic with Millard Fillmore, a “Prez Day” factoid, some stats on his term, and then back to the action.
Just a thought. There’s already lots of football history trotted out during the super bowl, why not some real history as well?
In any event, we don’t give lovers much of a holiday. And a Japanese firm thinks that’s too bad. At least when it comes to broken loves.
This Tokyo-based company is letting staff take paid time off after a bad break up. They call it “heartache leave.”
I’m guessing it accrues kind of like sick leave. One day per month or something. Or the one-night-stand bar crowd would be off more than on.
It’ll never happen here in the US. Not until we give it a less wimpy name. “Heartache leave” wouldn’t cut it.
It would have to be something like PRSD.
Post-Romantic Stress Disorder.
America, ya gotta love it.