As we approach another St. Valentines Day, it's a good time to reflect on John Lennon's and Paul McCartney's All You Need is Love.

Is love really all you need? Is there more? Is the state of love a good thing, or for that matter, even desirable? Should we be looking for directions from old song lyrics?

I've been around for a bit more than two score years.

In that time I've been in and out of love numerous times. Sometimes it was love that lasted a few years; other times it lasted no longer than a day or two. Well, a night would be more precise.

Were those times in love the happiest times of my life? My most productive periods?

On reflection, I'd have to say no.

I was a better parent when not distracted by romantic love.

When I was without a lover I was both a better employee and a better employer.

I helped start companies and improved our economy when out of the state of love.

Some might say I was a Titan of my community.

When in love, I wasn't thinking of my fellow man, the less fortunate, or society. I was spending far too much time thinking about how to keep the love I had.

What I'm saying brings to mind the immortal words of Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse:

"Life is stern and life is earnest, We live in a practical age. All around we see foreign competition making itself unpleasant. And we spend out time playing golf? What do we get out of it? In golf any use? That's what I'm asking you. Can you name me a single case were devotion to this pestilential pastime has done a man any practical good?"

My answers are: "None of your business" and "Not that I'm aware of."

My point was that you could switch P.G.'s words, substituting love for golf and his complaint would still hold true. Knowing Mr. Wodehouse like I do, I believe he would endorse such a switch, and possibly kick himself for not using that context in the first place.

Perhaps some of you are asking about the benefits of love.

Don't think I don't know what you are talking about. I may be old, but not that old. I know what denotes the R rating, what services are offered by the lucrative web sites -- the big nasty <nudge><nudge>;-);-)

But is love the best place to get the you-know-what?

If your water pipes break in your house, do you go looking for someone who is compatible to fix them?

Wouldn't it make more sense to find the best within your budget?

Lets stop relying in amateurs when we have this whole cadre of trained professionals ready and waiting.

Next time you feel you have to get a love fix, practice what Nancy Reagan preached: "Just say No."

It's possible Robert Palmer got it wrong: "Might as well face it, DON'T be addicted to love."

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I know I'm using some musical artists that predate many Flyer subscribers, but I was taught to write about things I know. Face it, I have Chuck Taylors in my closet older than some of my classmates.

There wasn't much hope I could keep with the music of Generation X or Millennial Generation, or whatever the media is call you these days.

Ask your folks about Mr. Lennon, McCartney and Palmer. With any luck, they'll dig through closets and find some old LPs (That's Long-Playing records to you in the digital age, and interestingly enough where Tower Records derives its name) that have been collecting dust.

Unfortunately, the turntable has likely gone off to the Good Guys in the sky.

If your parental guidance comes via a hot, single mom, tell her I still have a turntable and she can drop me a line at dking@danking.org.

Who knows, maybe I just haven't met the right woman! <nudge><nudge>;-);-)
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