The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breaths of love;
O, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.
But I send you a cream-white rosebud,
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purists and sweetest,
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.
John Boyle O’Reilly (1844-1890)
O, to have the fortune of Blogging on Valentine’s Day. I have spent the last three days trying to come up with something cute and clever to write about, something completely romantic. Alas, I have failed you. I do ask your forgiveness, I have been a bit discombobulated for the past seven months, following a series of strange, tragic, and wonderful events. My muses seemed to have abandoned me along with half my brain. The muses are sitting on a hillside in tibet, a great Buddhist temple looms in the background as they contemplate and meditate on the meaning of life. Everyone needs time off, even muses. Which leave me to the question, where did my brain wonder?
But it is Valentine’s Day, so let us talk about romance. I have heard it said that romance readers have sex 75% more often than non-romance readers. I do not know if that statistic is true, but it does leave much to ponder. If you subtract the celibate singles (and nuns), then romance reading is inspiring quite a bit more bedroom, or kitchen table, action than the statistics show.
I have also read that many romance readers read for escapism. I certainly do! I am a stay at home mom who home-schools two very active, special needs children. By the end of the day I am fried beyond belief. Two of the things that keep me going are the posts from my writing group and locking myself in the bathroom with my latest book. I desperately crave the escapism.
Does that call upon us, struggling writers and proficient writers alike, to inspire the masses to meaningful, lusty, romantic experiences and escape from the drudgery or complications of life? Is that our calling? Tell a tale that sweeps us out of our world into a world of adventure and create sex kittens from the overworked and over-stressed? Would that be a bad thing?
Some people want to save the world. Perhaps we are helping to do just that. A little more romance in everyones life would have a huge impact. Think of all the endorphins created from having sex, and to a lesser degree holding hands and snuggling with someone. Human touch is essential for survival, it improves physical and mental well being. Babies and the elderly wilt without touch, and so do we. We all need romance in our lives.
If that statistic is correct and Romance reading does inspire more amorous behavior then we do have our work cut out for us. It is our moral and social obligation to give the world more desire, more endorphins, and most importantly, more love.
Aloha and Happy Valentine’s Day from Hawai’i
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