MIAMI (CBS4) – Valentine’s Day.  Just saying it makes me grimace.

I’m not a curmudgeon, but I hate manufactured holdays, and Valentine’s Day is the worst.

A lot of us are going to be celebrating early this weekend… I use celebrating loosely… because who wants a romantic date on a Tuesday?

We’ll also be heading to the malls this weekend to buy the obligatory presents.  Surveys show we’ll spend an average of a hundred and twenty six bucks this year, up eight-point-five per cent from last year.  Maybe the economy is getting better.

But in New York, people are expecting to pay an average of almost a hundred fifty just on dinner!  Aren’t you glad you live in South Florida?

Then there’s the fortune we’ll spend thanks to obsecenely inflated prices for roses.

And aren’t you sick of the pressure from ridiculous Valentine’s Day commercials?  My wife will not be getting the leopard’s print hoodie-footie.

The unscientific polls I found show most of you agree with me and would rather forget about Valentine’s Day.

But, even though I may be a curmudgeon, I’m not insane.  See you at the mall tomorrow.