Valentine's Day

**Lorraine** · February 11, 2013

Thunder Bay, I agreed with most of your post. The rest I had to censor.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for a vacuum cleaner or workout DVD as a gift - man, what are you thinking???? That's as bad as the frying pan my husband gave me one Christmas. The only thing I did with it is clobber him over the head for his stupidity.

If your woman is one who will go off on you if you forget Valentine's Day, a single rose and lovely card is a good gift. Keep it simple.

**Tombstone Mountain** · February 11, 2013

Yeah but what if the vaccum is a Kirby or a hoover?

**Lorraine** · February 11, 2013

If you insist on buying the vacuum, give her candy or a nice rose or bouquet with a card BEFORE you pull the vacuum out. That is my thought.

**Thunder Bay Rush** · February 11, 2013

Dude, unless you want to end up sleeping on my couch in Canadia, listen to Lorraine. Skip the Hoover... and don't do what my buddy's dad did about 30 years ago - he bought his wife a mop and pail for VD. That marriage ended a couple months later!! We still laugh about that one....

**gangsterfurious** · February 11, 2013

Yes all of it and yes I read it. My man is smart enough to know that when I get special "presents" he does as well.

**Maverick** · February 11, 2013

Driving around today, commercial radio was riddled with VD commercials, mostly Sherry's Berries and Vermont Teddy Bear. Oddly absent have been the over the top jewelry commercials, and the commercials for Pajamagram.

Pajamagram is the one entity that I support whole heartedly!

:banana:

**Thunder Bay Rush** · February 11, 2013

Gangst' - you RULE all chicks in the entire world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I get the feeling you're more than happy with the new hubbster... however, if you ever decide to get a divorce (and consider moving to Canadia - we have free health care, don't forget...) my phone number is "867-5309." (And, I don't even know what you look like!)

YA! :drool:

**Maverick** · February 12, 2013

It's called an Avatar.

:eyeroll:

**Thunder Bay Rush** · February 12, 2013

Okay, Bill Gates, thanks for pointing that out for me... now, the offer for moving to Canadia is more valid!!

**Maverick** · February 12, 2013

You think she's going to want to move to Canada after that?

**liddybuck01** · February 12, 2013

if you're a woman and you like this holiday, you're probably single. just sayin'...

i couldn't care less about valentine's/xmas/birthday/etc.

my husband and I do nice stuff for each other all the time. we don't need designated days created by hallmark to tell us when to do so.

if he came home with a dozens roses, i would divorce him. wasting money like that!? disgusting...

you know what's sexy? let me sleep in until noon without bugging me or run the vacuum once. seriously.

**HomesickAlien** · February 12, 2013

I'll bet the people at Hallmark would love to get their hands on some of the gems you must have written. :LOL:

**JohnnyBlaze** · February 12, 2013

Out here it's double the money grab...only females give chocolates/presents to guys on Valentine's Day. Then, one month later on March 14th (called "White Day") the guys buy chocolates/presents to females as a kind of payback. For example, I received about a dozen boxes of chocolates last Valentine's Day ((no, they weren't girlfriends or anything cheeky like that...more like "duty")). So, one month later on White Day I "had to" give a box of chocolates to each of the women who got me stuff. Bullshit isn't it?! Edited February 12, 2013 by JohnnyBlaze

**Thunder Bay Rush** · February 12, 2013

:goodone:

FINALLY someone withsome common sense!!!

Read my Rugged Rant about Christmas - I wrote this column back in October and it was publsihed the week before Christmas... what a riot!!

Rugged Rant – Christmas

I often receive emails from people after they read my Rugged Rants. Most times the senders are very much in favour of what I say, and of course, I hear from a few from people who would love to hit me in the face with a sheet of plywood. Today’s Rant is surely to bring in a lot of emails, but perhaps fewer than the usual number of “RD, I’d love to hit you in the face with a sheet of plywood” variety. That is, if people are being honest.

I hate Christmas. I think it’s just a great big hassle that costs way too much money. A lot of you hate Christmas too, but you’re probably not willing to come right out and let ‘er rip like I am. You may have a family that loves Christmas and if you have kids, especially young ones, you automatically must love Christmas. “But wait, there’s more!” (Think 70s K-Tel commercials for the “Be-dazzler.”)

Do you really and truly love Christmas or do you pretend that you do to appease those close to you? You may be a Christian and therefore you probably do love Christmas for its true meaning. Or, you may be a Christian but secretly don’t like Christmas at all, and yet, you put on a façade because you’re expected to love Christmas.

The biggest knock I have is that the whole Christmas thing has become nothing but an over-commercialized farce. Money, money, money. I know many people who spend thousands of dollars each Christmas, thousands of dollars that they don’t have. On the credit card it goes… banks want your money too. They offer short term “Christmas Loans at Competitive Rates.” And then there’s the stress of having to go out and buy a bunch of gifts for people, many of whom you really don’t even know or like very much to begin with. Why in the world do you buy gifts for people you don’t like or even know very well? I know why. Because you think you should. Or, you do so “just in case they buy me something.” Come on… smarten up, you dough-head! (Insert picture here of The Rugged Dude slamming a fully cooked turkey into his big, bald head!)

And, what do you buy these “fringe” people? A bunch of crap that they don’t need or even like... But at least you can sleep at night because you bought them something. I know what you do at least some of the time… (Like Santa, I’ve been watching you.) you wait until someone buys you something (you open it a few days or even a week early) that you don’t like, need or won’t use, and you re-wrap it or “re-gift” it to “that stupid jerk from Support Services down on the third floor.” Ah, a nice touch. Very “in the season” of you.

And, besides, isn’t Christmas shopping just a hoot? I avoid all stores during “that time” of year, but when I must go into a retailer for essentials, I am shocked to see the incredibly rude and aggressive people, both shoppers and on occasion, even store workers. Let’s face it, there are businesses that make half their money during “that time” of year and it can be a very stressful buying season for business owners. Many that do close down do so in January after their last ditch effort to survive.

Moms and dads listen up. You do not need to spend $2,000 on your kids at Christmas. Their lives will continue if they don’t get the $400 video game play station thing, the I Pods, the new computer (gotta have one for facebook) and the flat screen TV (the latest of course, in HD) for their bedroom. How about bringing them down to earth a little and get the kids reasonably priced gifts? Go down to Value Village or The Salvation Army Thrift Store and buy them a few things. They won’t know the difference half the time anyway. Don’t worry about what their spoiled rotten little friends from down the road will be getting either. Your kids will eventually get over this devastating trauma. Hiring a “Post Christmas Therapist” (PCT) for your child won’t be necessary. When I was a kid, the coolest and likely most expensive gift I ever got for Christmas was a “GI Joe with the Kung Fu Grip.” The coolest gift ever.

For anyone with little kids, I mean between 2 and say, 8, have you noticed the tons and tons of toys your kids get at Christmas? Not just from you, but from “Santa Claus,” from all their Aunts and Uncles, from Gramma and Grampa, (both sets), from the Godparents, from the neighbors, from their four year old cousins, (did they really buy those gifts?) and even from your dog, “Logan.” (Awww, how cute.) How many toys does a kid need? And, have you ever noticed that by somewhere around January 5^th or 6^th, three quarters of these toys are either not being used, have parts missing rendering them useless, broken or outright smashed? Money well spent. And, what a mess! “Damn it, clean up your room or all these toys are going in the garbage!” Nice.

Try to tell me that January, February and March (and April, May and June) aren’t stressful months as you attempt to whittle away the debts left in the wake of your over-extended Christmas spending. And, part of the debt was for the $500 you spent at the liquor store. And, the beer store.

The Christmas season is normally the busiest travel time of the year. But, do you really and truly want to drive 5 hours in a blinding snowstorm to visit “Auntie Margaret and Uncle Stan” again this year? Or, do you honestly feel like going through the unbelievable stress of waiting in airport line-ups for hours on end, going through security (“Sorry Sir, you cannot take a pair of nail clippers on the plane. They might be used as a weapon.”) only to find out that there’s a snow storm (or a perfectly timed union strike) and you and your family are stranded for three days.

When you finally arrive at your destination, it’ll be the same Christmas Day all over again. Uncle Stan will be hammered by noon, falling asleep in “his” chair and drooling on his super-wide “Christmas tie” that he’s had since the 70s. Auntie Margaret will put forth a valiant effort in order to make a fruit cake again. But, nobody likes fruit cake. The noise and constant commotion drives you nuts after fifteen minutes. The kids (yours and “theirs”) will be running around chasing the cat all through the kitchen, the dining room, the living room and up and down the stairs. Oh, and I nearly forgot about all the other relatives that will be there too. Your sister, your brother-in-law and their kids (“spoiled little brats!”). Then, of course your other Aunts and Uncles will be there, the ones you really don’t like at all. But, you put up with them and listen to the whining and grumbling about sore backs, sore necks and foot callouses that “keep getting bigger.” And, your “snotty” cousin will be there too. The who went to Harvard. She’ll be on hand to talk about herself the whole time without catching a breath.

Now it’s dinner time and guess what? You get to wear one of those stupid little paper hats that makes you look like you rode the “short bus” to school rather than the long bus when you were a kid. Then, there’s grace. Unless you’re a Christian, or a true “believer” this will be the only time you bow and pray all year so why do you? Oh, I know – because you think you’re supposed to. After all, Auntie Margaret and Uncle Stan do, even if Uncle Stan is swacked.

Then, there’s the family argument that’s always lurking in the tall grass, just waiting to pounce. And, if it does, alcohol is often a factor in the melee. Family fights are precious aren’t they? What started that scrap anyway? Oh, I remember now. Your brother-in-law kept giving your kids chocolates (into their third box now) even though you politely asked him not to at least five times. In his scotch-numbed state, he slobbers out, “Ah, come on, it’s Christmas. Your sister always said you were a mean mom.” Uh oh. Here we go.

And, on top of all this, wouldn’t you prefer to sleep in your own bed at night rather than the standard-issue “pull out couch” with the plaid design and springs that poke you in the ribs all night?

Crap! I nearly forgot to mention the wonderfully joyous Christmas cards I get every year, most of which are from people who I never hear from at all throughout the year, or from people that I know for a fact don’t even like me. They send me cards because they think they’re supposed to. Save the four dollars, please. If one of these “phony cards” is from a couple, I always laugh when I notice that the wife always signs for both herself and her husband. (Unless of course, his handwriting is precisely the same as hers.) He didn’t even know that “he” sent me a card. And, there is never any effort put into the task. Below the wonderful poem that was written by someone other than the card’s sender, is inscribed with simply “Mike and Donna.” No, “Hey, RD, how have you been lately? Sure hope you’re having a good season. We’ll have to go out for coffee soon!” Just, “Mike and Donna.” How warm.

And, there are the “corporate cards.” Every damn year I get Christmas cards from my insurance company, along with an array of other companies I spend money with each year and get this – almost all of these are not even signed. They’re stamped! A nice personal touch. Most Christmas cards I get just go straight into the woodstove, unopened. And, then there are the electronic “e cards” that get emailed to me every year from people whom I’ve never met. Really? You can’t even get off your lazy ass and go to the store, spend an entire $3.00 (or a buck at the Dollar-o-ramma) and mail it to me? Delete.

If you asked 1000 kids under the age of 10 what Christmas is all about, 999 would say two things – Santa Claus and presents. No mention of the real meaning of Christmas whether you believe in it or not. I’m an atheist but at least I know what Christmas is all about. It’s the birth of Jesus Christ. Whether you believe it or not, that is where Christmas started. Not at Wal Mart, Sears, Zellers, Target or the Future Shop.

Just imagine what the world could do with the trillions of dollars wasted on Christmas every year? Just the money blown on the increase of millions of electricity bills to power all of your stupid Christmas lights would be a big help. (I’ll bet the electrical companies like Christmas.) There are people sleeping on wet cardboard, scrounging through garbage dumpsters for food and drinking water from filthy ditches.

Maybe some of them could use a little “Christmas cheer.”

**Thunder Bay Rush** · February 12, 2013

Hallmark is in talks with my agent as we speak... they really want to use my "blow job" line as they see the sincerity in it... they're certain it'll be a real winner, especially with those relationships that are a little rocky...

**Tombstone Mountain** · February 12, 2013

I've only been married 11 years...so I would have no idea what makes a woman happy

**Tombstone Mountain** · February 12, 2013

Now this is a gal with her head on straight!

**gangsterfurious** · February 12, 2013

:goodone:

Free health care, eh? Well now that you put it that way how can I resist?

And I was going to say, my picture is right there on my profile. That's the pic I sent to the Rush Facebook page on 21/12.

I do have to tell you though that I live in California, which is a 50/50 state. So if things were to go wrong with my marriage I'd have to give up half of my Rush collection, and I'd rather die. That's the real reason I work so hard at keeping my man happy and vice versa. Hehehe

**Lost In Xanadu** · February 12, 2013

My take...

I make an effort to show my wife how much I appreciate her everyday, and she does the same. We don't need Hallmark to tell us when to do it. We both boycott this poor excuse for a "holiday"

**Ya_Big_Tree** · February 12, 2013

Can you be my wife?

:LOL:

I think we are doing cards and maybe a lil something this year because next month is our anniversary. So I'll let V Day slide but That one he's not getting out of.

:P

**gangsterfurious** · February 12, 2013

So true... I appreciate my husband so much when he just gives me time and space when I ask for it. When I can take a nap alone, no husband, no dog, no noise.

However I won't kick him out for buying me flowers or chocolates, or for bringing my two best friends Ben and Jerry over.

**Janie** · February 12, 2013

Seems like 98% of women live for this holiday and that most men are trained to believe that women want the full-on romance for this day.

I think it's kind of a silly holiday so I treat it as such. One year I did make a very nice dinner but in the background I made a mix tape of goofy sex songs and blasted that while we ate. We had steak while songs like, "Me So Horny" and "F**k Her Gently" played in the background. I thought it was silly, goofy and fun but my husband gave me that, "You're not like a normal woman" look. (Pretty sure he came home with roses that day.) One time I made my own card and on the front was a weiner dog (with a "you") and a kitty cat (with a "me") and on the inside it read, "You get it!? Ya, you get it." (He didn't get it. He's one of those guys that has been trained to believe that you send a woman a dozen roses.)

**treeduck** · February 12, 2013

This is a holiday aimed at women that is perpetuated by male owned companies to make money from people. It's just a way to make people buy shit they never would buy under any other circumstances, a bit like Christmas but not nearly as lucrative. It's not about love it's about money and anyone who thinks different is deluded.

**Lost In Xanadu** · February 12, 2013

http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Love_Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=nrIBZTk8D8A

**HomesickAlien** · February 12, 2013

I'll have to look for those cards at REI next year. ;) :)

Valentine's Day

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Thunder Bay Rush

Lorraine

liddybuck01

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Recently Browsing 0 members