European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 14, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Romance is in the cards for Valentine s Day As shoppers search for the perfect verse. By Sid Schapiro romantically speaking Valentine s Day is the time to let it All hang out. After All it s the red letter Day for sweethearts and lovers. And cupid s on a  after searching for the perfect line a social science group in the United states has settled on the Best opener for those wishing to meet members of the opposite sex it s just a simple  in a poll of 650 men and 831 women it was reported that Plain but effective greetings trounced the likes of come Here often is that really your hair and did t we meet in a previous life romantic love can be an enchanting experience say some marriage and family therapists. In the Book mating they say romantic love sometimes is a swirling blend of tempestuous passion and Sublime suffering. At other times a therapist writes it bubbles with a cheerful ecstacy and adds it comes in a wild variety of forms and shades and it acts on people in Many different  from the old Farmer s almanac sex is out. Well sort of. It has been replaced by Romance at least according to indications from the . Advertising television and movie industries. It in t so much that people s habits Are changing because of the aids crisis As it is the aging of the baby Boomers. In 1989 America s baby Boomers will be hitting their 40s in record numbers and most of them Are married or too old for the singles bar  and Madison Avenue Are answering this change with a new emphasis on traditional romantic images flirting and subtlety. The most popular Valentine Symbol is still the heart. On Valentine s Day like the song says you gotta have heart lots and lots of  and there s lots of it around it does my heart Good he s a Man after my own heart a song in my heart Cross my heart i really have my heart set on it change of heart my heart s desire i m a poet at heart i m wearing my heart on my sleeve i know it by heart i mean it from the Bottom of my  would you believe that the first Valentine May have been a heart shaped Rock carved out by a prehistoric Caveman for his Cav girl for All those who Are bewitched bothered and bewildered in Romance there Are a whole slew of Valentines designed to help the love smitten get across their Heartfelt message be my  there Are Valentine cards for every Type of Belle and Beau the inhibited and uninhibited the sophisticated and unsophisticated the highbrow and lowbrow the shy and Nushy and the just Plain Lovesick. In the romantic trimmings of Valentines a card bedecked with a Rose Means love a fan is a Subtle Way of saying open your heart and a ribbon begs for Promise. Though there is a very wide Choice the Lovesick Valentine sender browses Long and hard to find the greeting that conveys my True  Here s a verse from a card trimmed with lace and ribbon and bearing a Rose there s a Charm about you sweetheart that belongs to you alone a certain Little Way you have that s All your very own. And it in t any wonder that this Valentine from me is As special As they make them and As Loving As can be. Valentine senders Are still saying it with Sweet talk and a lot of Rococo trimmings on feb. 14, but the greeting card Industry s writers and artists turn out their share of chuckles and zingers with a tinge of sex suggestive rather than blatant. See How these grab you Valentine no computer can Ever replace you. Your data is too nicely  i have mixed emotions about you. Somewhere Between love and  i m your body and soul. I did t want to break up a  Valentine you re the kind of Man who makes me Tingle. One who s single i Don t care what your pitch is Valentine. I la  Valentine c Mon now that you re old enough. Be bold enough i asked my Mother what a red blooded boy like you would want for Valentine s Day. And she said never mind what he wants Send him a card " Valentine your kisses leave something to be desired. The rest of you being Valentines is More than just holding hands hugging and kissing. But it s a Good  it is appropriate to take historical note of the Valentines that have become museum pieces. The infant Republic was less than 1 year old and president George Washington in the nation s temporary capital on Wall Street was weighed Down with the heavy problems of the time. But to a Young Man sweating at his Hoe in another part of new York City the Challenge for the Winter of 1790 was to finish with scissors and infinite patience a delicate lace Valentine to the lady of his love. That laboriously hand wrought Valentine along with some two dozen others of the Early years of the Republic when life was rugged but sentimental Are still around for viewing at the museum of the City of new York. The painstaking tour de Force of the Young Man of 1790 represents a period of american Valentine giving when the offering of a Valentine was equivalent to an offer of marriage. So much work went into it that no Swain could turn out More than one Valentine to one lady love in a season. It was t Long however before Commerce took Over. By the time Thomas Jefferson was president the infant printing Industry had begun to turn out Valentines. The museum collection has three examples of this Early Day commercialism All made before 1840. They Are lithographs and engravings with Sweet and stately illustrations and sentiments compounded of pure goo. These exhibits Are followed by a number of samples of the do it yourself phase of Valentine making. Manufacturers provided Lothario with do it yourself kits containing machine made lace paper coloured Cut out decorations and a Supply of verses from such handbooks As the frolicsome Valentine writer. All that the Romeo of the Early 1800s had to do was paste up the mess copy out a Sticky verse and pain tingly Send it to his love. Here is one of the specimens that great grandfathers could copy and Send in his Best penmanship turn fair Amelia cheer your Swain a shroud him from his veil of woe Range every Charm to ease the pain that in this tortured breast doth grow. The museum s collection also has some examples of All machine made Valentines of the 1840-1860 period. These factory made blobs of sentiment were so elaborate and Bulky they had to be delivered in sturdy decorative boxes. Finally came the period just before the Gay 90s. The commercial Valentines of the late 1880s were Gaudy in the extreme and they did away with the delicate sentiments of earlier years. One Valentine says frankly come to the arms of  a yes love is in the cards. Sid Schapiro a stars and stripes new York Bureau Retiree likes lending cupid a hand for Valentine s Day tuesday february 14, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 13