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[T792]The Valentines Day Massacre

by Burk Pendergrass, Bur

Seventy-Nine (79) years to the day after the Scar Face Gang committed the most infamous massacre in American history with the cold blooded killing of seven (7) members of the Bugsy Moran Gang while their Mob Boss, Al Capone, lay untouchable in Florida, another young man made his unforgettable mark in the State of Illinois while his diabetic father (unlike Capone) sat unknowing in the sunshine state.

Dateline: St Valentine's Day, 14 February 2008, Dekalb, Illinois

An hour or so and just over Sixty (60) miles due west of Chicago a skinny, troubled, Twenty-Eight (28) year old, Steven Kazmierczak, reminiscent of a Clint Eastwood spaghetti movie, stepped from behind a curtain at a lecture hall holding more than One Hundred and Fifty (150) students and speaking not a word opened fire gangland style on the unsuspecting class. Kazmierczak had masked his inner demons with his friendly exterior.

Unlike the Chicago gangs of Capone's era the six (6) people killed by Kazmierczak were engaged no unlawful activity. They were running no bordellos, were not guns for hire, and the prohibition period of our nation's history with it's speakeasies was but a faint memory when the alumnus ended the career of six (6) of his fellow Huskies before they began.

Mid-afternoon, St Valentine's Day, 2008, while the Tennessee Mountain Man finalized celebration plans for Cupid's favorite day, a former NIU sociology graduate student, dressed in a long black coat and carrying a shotgun and two (2) hand guns was practicing the reverse of Cupid's love magic. The gunman himself was enrolled in classes at the university just one short year earlier.

The curriculum of the Computer man, in years past, while he studied law and law enforcement sciences included the Chicago underground and the lawless gangland days. While it was an interesting period to study, it must have been a fearful time for the residents of the day. And, nothing in the original St Valentine's Day Massacre prepared one for the NIU Massacre of 2008.

Not even the earlier high school and college shootings over the last few years had prepared anyone to foresee and prevent the NIU massacre. This was, after all, perpetrated by one of their own... an outstanding student by all accounts.

Having apparently spent the night before in a Travel Lodge Motel near the college, Kazmierczak boosted his nerve and smoked his brain with alcohol and cigarettes as evidenced by the beer cans and cigarette butts scattered about the room. The NIU gunman then gathered the tools to apply the trade for which he would be remembered and made his way to the school.

Leaving much more ammunition behind in his motel room secluded in a duffel bag he left many more questions than could be answered. Adding to the suspense, he apparently left no suicide note which police have come to expect to help them determine the suspect's motive and state of mind. The totality of the experience makes one ask what he planned for an encore and why he
suddenly decided to end it when and where he did by taking his own life.

Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old senior, responsible for the massacre at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia almost a year earlier in April, 2007, like Steven Kazmierczak, was a young man with many demons... you may simply call them mental issues, but they are demons that haunt men day and night until some break under the assault.

Both of these men, like Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, before them, who embarked on the 1999 shooting rampage at Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado, have turned our educational campuses into modern day shooting galleries.

The Tennessee Mountain Man would not want to be a student on America's campuses today. Back in the day police officers and properly licensed citizens, including students, carried side arms at all times including in banks, schools, restaurants, bars, court houses, etc.

It is time we stop trying to be ostriches. It is time we get our heads out of the sand or where ever we have shoved them and reverse the course of only criminals, those with mental issues, and individuals with the propensities of the Harris', the Klebold's, the Cho's, and the Kazmierczak's carrying weapons in our society.

Guns are neither good nor bad. They are inanimate objects. But, when guns are outlawed anywhere, only the criminals or the criminally insane (by definition) will bear arms.

February 14th, the holiday of Love! Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. Who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred - none of whom were associated with roses OR chocolate.

Most scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. During this time, around 270 A.D., emperor Claudius ll prohibited marriages for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and ordered by Claudius to be put to death. But his courageous blessing of the bonds of love may have earned him a notable place in history.

Another legend has it that Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius; fell in love with the daughter of his jailer who visited him during confinement. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent her a letter signed "from your Valentine" an expression that is still used today. We could say this marked the very first Valentine's Day.

Possibly the most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine and his day is one not focused on Eros(passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion. Subsequently, his love for his god may have gone down in history.

Our final possiblity for the origins our our holiday: It could be that we celebrate Valentines Day on the 14th because this is the day that St. Valentine died. However, some believe that the celebration of Valentines Day was an attempt by the Church to civilize the celebration of the pagan Lupercalia festival - held on the 15th of February. Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Lupercalia festival was deemed un-Christian and outlawed.

Valentine's Greetings

The oldest known valentine gift still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. The greeting, written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".

And Who is this Cupid?

Another valentine icon you may be wondering about is Cupid (from Latin cupido, "desire"). In Roman mythology Cupid is the son of Venus, goddess of love. His counterpart in Greek mythology is Eros, god of love. Cupid is often said to be a mischievous boy who goes around wounding both gods and humans with his arrows, causing them to fall in love. The Romans believed white roses grew where the tears of Venus fell, as she mourned the loss of her beloved Adonis. Her son Cupid, while being stung by a bee, shot arrows in the rose garden; the sting of the arrows became thorns. Venus pricked her foot on a thorn, and the droplets of blood dyed the roses red.

Sending Roses on Valentine's Day

Why should you send roses to your loved one this Valentine's Holiday? The rose is the symbol of love, of magic, of hope, and of passion?.perfect to let your loved one know how you feel about him/her! The rose represents ultimate beauty and perfection. It is the messenger of Romance!

A dozen red roses remains the classic Valentine's Day favorite (ok, it's a toss up between roses and chocolate - but we all knwo why chocolate is). However, many women report that they adore roses in other colors just as much. There are hundreds of colors to choose from. The choices are endless and it's easier than ever to select a rose that is as unique as your sweetheart.

Whatever your Valentine's gift to give or receive, have fun this holiday of love - may this little bit of history add to your enjoyment!

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About Author

Both Burk Pendergrass & Eric V. Allen are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Burk Pendergrass has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Current Affairs and Writing. Burk Pendergrass, J.D., a Cherokee Indian and Viet Nam Vet specializing in and. Burk Pendergrass's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.

Eric V. Allen has sinced written about articles on various topics from Depression Cure, Thanksgiving and Holidays. Eric is a friend of the rose growers at rosefarm.com, where one can and