Ah, Valentine’s Day is almost upon us and, hopefully, this is a reminder to guys and gals that you really need to get a little, sentimental something for your special person-or else that special person will get you in the long run and you will rue the day you did not mind my warning.
Being an old gal who remembers some pretty exciting courtships, I found it intriguing that one of our regular readers would be so inventive as to be romantic at the nation’s only World War I Memorial.
No, this was not some kind of an intra-military operation but a “field trip,” no less, between Kathryn Rose of Herrick Road, Riverside, and Neil Bouhan, of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.
Maybe it is the shadow of the University of Chicago that so inspires Neil, but he took Kathryn to Liberty, Mo., right outside of Kansas City. And, to make it all perfect, he proposed at the World War I memorial. Boy, is that romantic or what?
I guess it is better than some old Nike missile site or a Civil War battlefield. But then, maybe he is holding out such possibilities for the honeymoon. Geez, could you just imagine a honeymoon recreating Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg?
Seriously, we wish Kathryn and Neil the best for the future and look forward to the wedding. They met when she was a senior at the University of Wisconsin, and he a recent University of Chicago graduate. The two worked at a law firm in Chicago, hit it off and discovered that after a long correspondence, moving around and other in-between events, they had a lot in common and a sense of humor, which is obvious after hearing of the proposal.
The romance will peak some time in the future at St. Mary’s of Riverside and, as Kathryn notes, maybe a reception in Riverside. Knowing the Herrick Road bunch, which loves a party, I would not be surprised if it were held conterminously with the annual block party.
So, Neil, know that Kathryn set you up for this column, and that is her Valentine to you via Judy Cupid.
Valentine’s Day, by the way, is one of the biggest days that candy manufacturers celebrate each year. To that end, things ought to be rocking over at Aunt Diana’s Fudge shop in downtown Riverside.
I intend to do some major damage there, as the chocolate is to die for. And, as a Valentine to myself, I will pig out on dark chocolate orange peels. After a chocolate cornucopia at Thanksgiving and a chocolate Christmas tree at Christmas, I can’t wait to see what they can come up with for Valentine’s Day. A mere heart would seem so ordinary!
Just to update you on the status of fruitcakes in the house, one has come from Mt. Vernon, Ill., via the former mayor there, Rolland Lewis.
The Landmark has a long reach, and my fruitcake quest has no end. I heard on a PBS travel show that Milan, Italy, makes signature fruitcakes from a 13th Century recipe. I guess I am going to have to go to Italy to check that out.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
