Not only am I an avid curler, but also an intense competitor. I curl seven times a week. In all my twenty years of curling, I have struggled persistently to show no negative emotions on ice when I make a poor shot. Fellow curlers have told me time and time again that attitude is half the battle in curling, and gave me many suggestions on how to improve. The more frustrated I get, the worse I curl. Also, when as a skip I display undesirable emotions after a bad shot, it rubs off on the rest of my team. With great determination, I finally have succeeded in not revealing my frustration, but this has not erased my notoriety.

Early on February 14th the telephone rang. "Happy Valentine's Day! How are you?" sounded the deep voice of Harry, my curling buddy.

"I'm fine, thank you. And Happy Valentine's to you too." A pause. I can't stand pauses in telephone calls, so I filled in with "Today is my 80th birthday!" Another of those long pauses! Facetiously, I added, "My Valentine birthday accounts for my being so loving, sweet, adorable, amorous, winsome, beloved, amiable, lovable, and all the rest of the synonyms in Roget's Thesaurus."

"Well, then, Happy Birthday to you," he said in the same deep voice.

"Thank you. Thank you very much." I responded graciously.

Another long pause! I couldn't have that so I decided to bring the conversation to a close. "I'll see you at the curling rink tomorrow."

The sexy voice quickly reacted. "Sorry, I don't curl, but with all your wonderful qualities, I..."

I dropped the handset like a hot potato, and cut him off.

Bad move! Now I will never know the ending of that intriguing sentence.

S a d !

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