r.a. – Glad you liked. I guess we did paper things for halloween and thanksgiving, too – hand turkeys, pilgrim hats and the like. As for Valentine’s Day, I know I had my first crush in 2nd grade. But the teachers always made sure that everyone gave valentines to everyone else of the opposite gender, so I don’t remember if there were any broken hearts arond that.

marja-leena – Of course, some people persist in making paper cut-outs well into adulthood. I know an artist who specializes in it. Her stuff is amazing. It wouldn’t be my choice, though since I rather prefer asymmetry.

Larry – Thanks. I was kind of pleased with those two phrases, as well, even if the rest of the poem was a bit prosaic for my tastes.

Brett – Origami, eh? You must’ve been more advanced than me (or had more inventive teachers). Unless you’re counting paper airplanes!

Zhoen – Great comment. I agree that observable reality trumps symbolism every time. I wouldn’t mind hearing more about that “subtle endocrine function” sometime.

When I took anatomy in college, a decade later, I could draw real hearts pretty well, and enjoyed the change from dogmatism to observable data.

Never want to do cardiac surgery, it’s boring, just a pump in that context. It’s interest lies in it’s subtle endocrine funtion. But it’s the stomach that has a brain.