To cool for drool

When I was young, it wasn’t “cool” to be in love. Certainly not to show it. Love was for suckers after all. Love was what they sold us on TV. And anyway, falling in love always lead to heartbreak, so it wasn’t worth it, and anyone who was in love was weak! Therefore, showing affection in public, especially to your friends, was an embarrassment. It simply wasn’t done.

Happily I grew out of that, though it took a little time. Tinessa also gave me some wisdom while we were dating. She said something to the effect of ‘if somebody gags at or is sickened by or otherwise doesn’t like public displays of affection, that’s his problem,’ and she was right. Obviously I’m not talking about pulling your pants off at a dinner party. Although….

I’ve always been a romantic (and even as a nihilist, I’ve been a romantic nihilist) so I don’t feel like I’m going back on anything now in saying that love is, in fact, good. Just like pineapple, it tastes good, and it’s good for you. And it grows on trees. And there’s nothing wrong with celebrating it. I’ve certainly had times when I scoffed at love – especially when I’m bitter over a recent breakup, and that’s natural, to some extent. But I think it’s selling oneself short to adopt a “holding hands and kissing should be kept behind closed doors” attitude as a general modus vivendi.

It’s true, love has made fools of us all. But that’s nothing to be ashamed of. I only regret that I had such a difficult time embracing it.