SPECIAL SOCKS: If you men out there are still hemming and hawing
about what to get your wife or girlfriend for Valentine’s Day,
here’s our suggestion: alpaca socks.

Normally, the soft and warm socks are way too much heavy, even
for Bradford. But our frigid temperatures have made them ideal. Not
only are they lighter and softer than wool but they don’t itch!

Nothing could be better than warm tootsies inside when it’s 10
below outside.

We happen to know, too, that these socks can be purchased in one
of the stores inside the Main Street Mercantile in Bradford. You’re
loved one will be appreciative.

OLD FLAMES: Speaking of warmth, we’ve been told that thoughts of
“old flames” have become more and more prevalent, thanks to the
Internet.

What used to be idle thoughts can now be turned into reality
with the click of the mouse and, according to a recent
classmates.com poll, three out of four of its clients reminisce
about a lost love.

Classmates Online Inc. polled its community and found that 78
percent of respondents have reflected on their first love or high
school sweetheart when thinking about their love life, and 58
percent had thought of them during the last 12 months.

Some other results of the poll:

* 40 percent of respondents had used the Internet to look up or
reconnect with an old boyfriend or girlfriend.

* 31 percent of respondents said they have been contacted by an
old flame in the past five years.

* 77 percent of respondents think more people will turn to the
Internet to find love in 2007.

* 64 percent of respondents said they would like to be contacted
by an old flame.

* 58 percent of respondents thought of their first love or high
school sweetheart in the last year; and

* 22 percent of respondents had met their true love in school,
kindergarten through grade 12.

Meanwhile, the company also polled its clients on their
preference for a Valentine’s Day present – apparently, alpaca socks
was not on its list.

When men were asked what they would most like to receive on
Valentine’s Day, the number one answer for 49 percent of male
respondents was “a kiss.”

For women, the number one request for flowers at 27 percent,
followed by a kiss at 24 percent.