DAY of LOVE
What to do on Valentine’s Day? — Here’s some ideas

The Jiffy Lube sign on Nizhoni Blvd. offers a suggestion for those looking for a unique gift idea. [Photo by Brian Leddy/Independent]

By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — Who lubes ya, baby.

As Gallupians prepare for Thursday, the most romantic holiday of them all, that sign posted at Jiffy Lube on Nizhoni sums up the hopes of many men and women in this areas as they prepare to honor the one person who lubes, er, loves them.

For many men who are unsure where they stand in their current relationship, Valentine’s Day can be even scarier than Halloween.

Bill Martinez at Gallup’s Blossom Shop sees this every year.

Sure, Valentine’s Day is his biggest day of the year, with orders coming in days in advance on the phone, in the mail and on the Internet. And yes, most men seem to be unimaginative, going for the basic red roses, which can cost $65 and up depending what kind of vase or container they are placed in.

But each year, he said, he also gets orders from men who opt for just one rose — either white or pink or yellow — because they may think it’s too early in the relationship to go the full dozen red rose route.

“But the next year, they’ll call in for the dozen red roses,” he said.

Dozens of men and women each year take the holiday to the extreme deciding that this is the day that they are going to pledge their eternal love for each other.

In years past, the county clerk’s office would deck out the rotunda at the new courthouse in white bridal bunting, playing host to between 40 and 60 couples each year who would go through their marriage vows one after another.

But this year, the county clerk’s office has announced that the rotunda is off limits because the office is preparing for the upcoming election, so the attention has shifted to magistrate court.

Marlene Lee, a clerk for the court, said staff there are preparing to deck out one of the courtrooms for marriages on Valentine’s Day. Magistrate Judge Henrietta Soland will be on hand to do the honors.

“We’re expecting that because the county courthouse won’t be available, we’ll be getting a lot more than we usually do,” she said, adding that another magistrate judge, Kenneth Howard, has agreed to step in to help if the numbers warrant it.

People can make plans in advance or they can make a decision “at the spur of the moment” and just walk in, Lee said. Each ceremony takes between 10 and 15 minutes and it’s going to start at 8 a.m. and end about 4 p.m. There are no fees.

So why Valentine’s Day? Could it be because people think that getting married on the most romantic day of the year will help them beat the odds — currently 43 percent of all marriages end in divorce. Or could it be that the guys are more practical and realize that getting married on Valentine’s Day is a big help in remembering anniversaries and added to that, husbands will be able to get off with buying one present to handle both the anniversary and Valentine’s Day.

Another big thing that seems to be popular in Gallup on Valentine’s Day is dining out.

It’s so popular that in the past, up-scale restaurants all over town — from Olympic Kitchen and the Ranch Kitchen on the west side of town to Panz Allegro and El Rancho on the east — have been packed, and couples are advised to make arrangements with the restaurant or be prepared to wait awhile before sitting down — hint to boyfriends, brush up on the small talk.

And if you plan to go to Chelles, fergitaboutit.

Jennifer Macias, the restaurant’s owner, said Monday evening that there are a few tables left, but these will go in the next two days and the restaurant will not have any openings for walk-ins on Thursday night.

“We may be able to accommodate walk-ins but they will have to arrive early, at either 4:30 p.m. or 5 p.m.,” she said.

Coming in early has another benefit in that the couple could then have time to make a 7:30 p.m. romantic comedy at the Allen Theaters.

The pickings are slim this year if you don’t consider “Juno” a romantic comedy. Most of the other so-called romantic comedies have not exactly been praised by the critics.

But this is a day when the men are supposed to stand back and let the ladies decide on the movie selection so the only suggestion that makes any sense is to hope that the movie she chooses is at The Red Rock Six.

Then you have the possibility of seeing the movie next to “Rambo” and you can sit on the side next to where the Sylvester Stallone movie is playing and while your partner is watching the romantic comedy, you may get lucky and be able to hear the battle scene gunfire bleed over to your theater.

For those who may feel that flowers or/and dinner and a movie aren’t enough, there are other options available.

For $120 for one night, you can rent a cabin at the Z Lazy B Ranch near Fort Wingate, have a romantic night and then get a free breakfast. The cost could go down if you got some other couples to join you since the cabins can hold between eight and 10 people and you could share the cost. However, there is a $15 a night cost per extra person.

Or you could just make reservations and have dinner at the ranch, which is open to the public for eating on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.

If you are a real romantic and both you and your mate are a little daring and want a wedding that goes beyond having it in a courtroom in front of a magistrate judge, you could opt to have it in a hot air balloon as you are sailing over the Red Rocks of Gallup.

Peter Procopio, one of the founders of the Red Rock Balloon Rally, said he couldn’t remember anyone around here actually doing that, but he said it was probably fairly common in Albuquerque, where there are commercial outfits like Rainbow Riders that take people up for a price.

As for Gallup, Procopio said that the couple could probably find someone who would do it at no cost since the balloonists here are civic-minded and often take people up for charity. But the key here would be when the balloonist would be available since they all have other jobs and the weather would have to cooperate, although a day like Monday would have been perfect for going up.

And for those who want to give their Valentine something a little out of the ordinary, maybe they should take the Jiffy Lube saying to heart and think practical.

Pat Nolan, manager at the Gallup Midas, said he didn’t exactly have Valentine’s Day gift cards printed up, but he thought that a lube and oil change would be something that a lady would appreciate for months.

So, if you want to win the heart of your lassie, there’s nothing better than something for her chassis.