my funny valentine

People who know say obsessions can never be satisfied & I would have to agree. Valentine's Day brings out several of mine. May I start with chocolate? People have been using chocolate to alter their moods for longer than time itself. In Toltec myth, Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent god, was called "the god of light, the giver of the drink of the gods, chocolate.”

"Chocolate" is an Aztec word. Cortez swore by it, claiming he could walk a whole day without eating on just one cup of the "precious drink." Montezuma drank chocolate before visiting any of his wives. Chocolate made its way from the steamy tropics in Southern Mexico and Central America to the tables of Europe where it was used for pleasure and fun. The Spaniards added sugar, & the Swiss devised that smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Considered an aphrodisiac chocolate was condemned by those who condemn lust, which it was believed to provoke, & defended by those who don't. Many Swiss claim their worst deprivation during World War II was making do with only one bar of chocolate per week. The Swiss, incidentally, are the biggest consumers of chocolate in the world by far.

Imagine if chocolate was a controlled substance & we had to seek out doctors for prescriptions. They might let visiting dignitaries and dying people eat all they want, but the rest of us would go crazy. It would sprout an illegal industry, there'd be dealers, pushers, clandestine orgies; the government would declare war. Revolution! Fortunately, instead, we have St. Valentine's Day, the annual excuse for a chocolate pig-out by lovers & lonely-hearts alike. And it's legal.

Nowdays we're told that chocolate flavanols can improve our health; it lowers blood pressure, improves blood-flow to the brain, reduces the risk of heart attack, helps keep the brain healthy & also prevents cognitive decline and dementia in older individuals. Could we ask for anything more?

I have received some odd Valentine offerings over the years including 100 red roses from a run-away poet, a sweet sampler from a self-described scum-bag, a broken promise from a romantic used-to-be-mister-nice-guy, & a card with cupids & hearts from a long-time, not-too-faithful admirer. This year my San Francisco son put the phone next to his two-month-old son's sweet little heart-shaped lips so i could hear baaa-aah-aah-aah, which only a grandmother understands to mean i love you.

Romance, restless & strange, exciting, terrible & wonderful, spicy, sweet & ever-so-inspiring, is in the air. And chocolate or not this restless writer is in the mood.