Right after Christmas (sometimes even before), it starts. The aisles at your local drugstore become a sea of pink and red. Stuffed animals holding hearts multiply like Mogwai. Necco conversation hearts replace candy canes. The equal-opportunity-offender jewelry advertisements disappear for a week or two and then start up again, driving both men and women into a consumerist frenzy.
It’s the Valentine’s Day hype, and it’s enough to make even the happiest Smug Married couple scream. For Singletons, it can be unbearable. Whether you’ve just ended a long –term relationship or haven’t had a date since the first Bush administration, seeing all the chocolates and long-stemmed red roses can make you nauseous.
