Our Valentines Day was rather sedate...no flowers, no candy, no jewelry, no special dinner. My wife and I each were out of town at separate meetings, at which she celebrated with a sandwich and I with grocery fried chicken. I did get home in time to watch re-runs of Swamp People, and for some live mud wrestling on the Forlorn channel.
When I was a young kid, as in first and second grade, I really looked forward to Valentines Day-- not because it meant candy but because it meant that I might get a card from some girl in my class with pigtails on which I had a crush. You know, one of those mass-produced cards that came in a box of 100 that probably cost a dollar. But, alas, romantic disappointment always arrived at my desk, as I received cards only from Gertrude, Cedric and Henry.
After some life review, I brightened as I read this week a Wall Street Journal article telling how 100 people spent a romantic Valentines Day visiting the largest New York City sewage treatment plant. The facility treats 1.5 million gallons of wastewater per day. The visitors were shown how the plant operates and toured control rooms and digesters. One man said it was something fun to do together, as he kissed his girlfriend.
Of course, some persons noticed a certain rotten egg smell. ( I will not repeat my wool suit at a sewage treatment plant story, as with causal days maybe people do not wear that much wool anymore).
Odor leads me to another story I read this week. It appears that scientists at the City College of New York have discovered that a material made from used coffee grounds can absorb hydrogen sulfide gas--the stuff that smells like rotten eggs at sewage treatment plants. Actually, the process is called "adsorption." Caffeine in the grounds facilitates the process because it contains nitrogen.
So, next Valentines Day, or if you are looking for romance anytime, forget the flowers, candy, jewelry and special dinner. Just go visit a sewage treatment plant and have a cup of coffee there. It can be stimulating, and is so organic!
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