PAPER CLIPS…
by Elaine Corrington
Now Wait Just a Darn Minute!
“My funny valentine
Sweet comic valentine
You make me smile with my heart…”
Is love real? Is it kind? Does it consider your Valentine’s values, needs and wishes…and are you always appreciating the needs of your loving partner and both of you as a couple at equal importance to the secret and expressed needs you have for yourself?
Can you overcome or hide those qualities in your partner and in the relationship you share, and feel the joy of love, especially on Valentine’s day in February? Or does– dare I say it– truth of secret thoughts make itself known? Because this song was so beautifully sung by so many of my favorite singers, it never occurred to me that it was anything but loving. While driving to do some work errands, I started humming and singing this song to make it more fun, and all of a sudden I was struck not by the full throated voice and beautiful music- but by the words, especially the second part of the first verse.
“Your looks are laughable
Unphotographable
Yet you’re my favorite work of art”
Oh. Sure. Uh Huh. And if that isn’t enough.
“Is your figure less than Greek?
Is your mouth a little weak?
When you open it to speak
Are you smart?”
As if I don’t ask those questions about myself when I’m alone and doing chores that don’t demand my full attention. But what the heck is this person who is supposed to be my Valentine doing when singing out loud to me- or even thinking silently? Are they questioning all of the faults they can think of, and maybe some that I try so hard to hide? Am I Funny Ha-Ha to them or Funny Peculiar? A person who is okay for now, but a problem for the future? Am I being put up with? Am I easy to forget?
“But don’t change your hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay little valentine stay
Each day is Valentine’s day.”
Oh sure, now that I am totally ticked off and not in any mood to get my hair out of my eyes, you want me to stay and pretend that this is a day of love and appreciation of all my best qualities- which I can’t even think of right now???
I have to stop singing while I drive.