Valentine's Day is one of those holidays on which I like to do a show but for which I also like to have a unique theme. In the nearly nineteen years of Self Help Radio, I've done seventeen Valentine's Day show, & the themes of those shows have been:
2003: the first show, just general Valentine's stuff
2004: love
2005: hate
2007: crushes
2008: jealousy
2009: boyfriends
2010: girlfriends
2011: love songs
2012: lovesick
2013: love is...
2014: valentines
2015: famous lovers
2016: heartbreak
2017: sweethearts
2018: roses
2019: flirting
2020: the heart
The reason I didn't do a Valentine's Day show in 2006 is, I believe, because the building which housed my radio station had had a fire & was closed for a couple of weeks. I have no idea what I had planned for that year - I suspect nothing. I didn't plan ahead that much in those days. In fact, there was a popular show on the local NPR affiliate in which the host would come up with a theme & have his interns find songs for him, & a couple of times when I was talking to people, they'd say, "Oh yeah, self-important NPR guy covered that theme last Thursday!" One time a guy called me & asked if I were trying to copy him. I said, "No, I don't even listen to his show." "That's weird," the guy said, amazed. "I wonder what that means." I think we had both done shows about the devil. Apparently my soul was in danger.
All this, by the way, from someone who's never really celebrated Valentine's Day. I bought a few candy hearts to give to female friends on Valentine's Day in twelfth grade, but I don't think I meant them as anything more than platonic. In fact, one of the women gave it back to me - she was mad at me at the time - & so I gave it to my mother, who was very touched. I guess I never really did anything nice for her when I was a teenager.
This year I think the only thing the wife & I are looking forward to for Valentine's Day is the return of John Oliver's show. But hopefully this week's Self Help Radio will also be a bit enjoyable.
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