The umbrella man is just trying to make a buck

It rains and he appears. He wasn't there a minute ago, but when the sky opened up and let out a drizzle he arrived. Magically, he has a box full of umbrellas to offer to those of us caught in the rain without so much as a newspaper to prop up over our heads. We could've looked at the forecast, or carried our umbrellas every day, but we chose not to. Some of us are too busy. Some of us don't think we need umbrellas. There are numerous reasons we get caught in a downpour without that trusty canopy on a stick. When that happens, the umbrella man is there offering up umbrellas at a "reasonable" price. Some folks will buy an umbrella. Some folks will just get wet. It's a personal decision, not something to get worked up about. I don't have the statistics, but I bet the people that buy an umbrella from our umbrella man today end up in the rain without an umbrella next time, or not too far down the road. It doesn't make them bad people. It just makes them wet.

Greeting card companies, the flower joints, these are million-dollar umbrella men. Valentine's Day is the rain.

Overindulgence, lack of creativity, high-priced teddy bears- those might be less-than-stellar things, but spreading love isn't a less-than-stellar thing. It's a stellar thing and Valentine's Day is a yearly reminder to spread some love. We don't blame the umbrella man for the way the rain makes us feel, even when he's pushy and annoying. So why blame those companies for polluting a holiday with its heart in the right place?

Valentine's Day might be all wet, but love the umbrella, man.