“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart” — Helen Keller.

Despite the big displays of Valentine’s Day related merchandise in so many local stores, that Thursday is Valentine’s Day will no doubt catch many — mostly men — by surprise, and they’ll be rushing to one of those local stores on their way home from work Thursday, trying to make sure they cover their bases with their loved one.

I checked a variety of websites looking for information about Valentine’s Day.

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I read an account at www.wilstar.com that said that the more modern times observance of Valentine’s Day was preceded by a Roman commemoration of a young man’s rite of passage, seeking the favor of the pagan god Lupercus.

This celebration featured a lottery in which young men drew the name of a teenage girls, with the girls to become the man's sexual companion for the next year.

In an effort do away with that lottery, Pope Gelasius ordered that instead of sexual companions, the names of saints be put into the box with the idea that the young men had to emulate the ways of the saints in the year ahead.

You can bet that wasn’t nearly as popular with the young men involved.

Later the Church pushed for the celebration to be about Saint Valentine instead of Lupercus.

Valentine had been imprisoned, and while there fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. Supposedly his love for her and his great faith caused her to be miraculously healed of her blindness. Shortly before he was taken to be executed, he sent her a note signed, “From your Valentine.”

The miracle related to his great love inspired others to write notes expressing their love and calling themselves a Valentine, all dating back to 270 AD.

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Not everyone has a Valentine, nor do they want one.

I found an article that told about the observance of anti-Valentine's Day, called “Singles Awareness Day,” which is observed in some cities.

I’d suggest that guys wanting to avoid celebrating Single Awareness Day had best make some plan to observe Valentine’s this Thursday.

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I love to watch “Antiques Roadshow” on PBS, and see the experts tell people about interesting items they’ve been keeping in their attics or in a closet, and see the look on their face when they find it's worth big money.

I clipped a story about an auction for an enamel-and-gold Faberge’ egg that sold at a London auction not long ago, for $18.5 million. It was owned by the Rothschild banking family.

The price set a record for Faberge’ eggs, easily beating the $9.6 million paid for one back in 2002.

Russian Czar Alexander III had these fancy eggs made as Easter gifts for his wife. More than 50 of these eggs were created for the Russian imperial family, though not all survived.

Pretty much puts to shame those chocolate Easter bunnies so many of husbands gives their wives. Check your closet and attic to see if you have one of these Faberge’ eggs.

WILL CHAPMAN is publisher of The Daily Iberian.