Valentine’s Day: Do men know?

The other day I was in a phone conversation with a friend, who also happens to be a legendary sports figure. I will not use his name for reasons you will quickly see.

I do not believe, Mama aside, in embarrassing those I love and admire.

We were comparing calendars and trying to settle on a mutually agreeable date for a project we’re doing.

“What about Valentine’s Day?” I asked.

Silence followed by a slight clearing of throat. “Huh, hmm, well,” he stammered before finally plunging forth. “When is that?”

A huge, certainly embarrassing burst of my laughter filled the air. “Feb. 14th and you’d better not forget that.” His wife is a dear friend of mine so I believe we girls must stick together in matters such as these. “But don’t worry. I’ll call you on Feb. 13th and remind you.”

“You won’t have to,” he replied quickly. “I’m writing it down right now.”

I have always admired his genius.

That got me to thinking, though. Do most men know the actual date of Valentine’s Day? I know we women sure do. But since I am attracted to how men and women view things differently, I decided to do an unscientific poll. I called up guys and asked them to name the calendar date of Cupid’s Day. Without fail, there was always a pause. Most of the times, the question was repeated back to me. It is a sad fact but men are always suspicious that we women are up to some piece of trickery. Finally, each guy answered. And he always answered correctly.

So, then I thought, “Maybe it’s a sports thing.” Having been cast for many years among gladiators in the sports arenas, I well know that when men make their living in sports, they are nothing short of consumed by it.

I phoned up Darrell Waltrip, former NASCAR champion now turned Fox television broadcaster.

“When is Valentine’s Day?” I asked.

Pause. “Valentine’s Day?”

“Yes.”

“Huh, well, Valentine’s Day is Feb. 14th.”

Sports theory shattered, I explained why I had asked. He laughed and replied, “Well, now you need to remember one thing. When does Feb. 14th fall?”

“During Speed Weeks,” I promptly replied, referring to the two weeks of race activity in Daytona that is capped off by the famous Daytona 500.

He chuckled. “That’s right. So it’d be hard to forget it. Sometimes the 500 even falls on the 14th.”

Spoken like any stockcar racer I’ve ever known. Important dates are always related to races. That is to say that Memorial Day is Charlotte’s World 600, the Fourth of July is the Daytona’s Firecracker 400 and until it was changed, Darlington’s Southern 500 marked Labor Day.

“When is Valentine’s Day?” I asked another friend one evening.

Pause. Deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. “Valentine’s Day?” I could tell his mind was racing then he blurted out defensively, “I didn’t forget it!” Another frantic pause. “It’s not until, huh, Feb. 14th.”

So, if you’re a guy and you didn’t remember the date — and I will have to say that according to my unscientific poll, you are in the minority — I’m doing you a big favor by reminding you.

I’ve just spared you from a big fight.

Now, that ought be well worth a dozen roses sent this way.