richard < 3 ilsa

What?
Richard who?

Well, you may know him better as Rick Blaine, nightclub owner in the northwestern seaport of Morocco in north Africa.

Um...okay.
The name sounds American, though.
What about the chick?

Ilsa Lund. She's a Norwegian he met in Paris.

Quite a bit of globe-hopping going on here.
What's the deal with them?

She's the love of his life. And he is the love of her life, too. But it's complicated.

Oh, please, love is always complicated, is it not?
What that usually is code for is that at least one of them is married.

You're absolutely right.
That phrase does usually mean that very thing.
But he never knew that about her until she and her husband show up years later in his gin joint, of all the gin joints in the world.

Wait just a minute.
This is about an old movie, isn't it?
Some pre-World War II black and white, right?

Hey, "Casablanca" is much more than 'some old movie"! It's a love story for the ages, with Humphrey Bogart doing the thinking for all of them.
With the help of the Frenchman in charge, he devises a plan that saves the woman he loves...but deprives him of her company.
How very chivalrous and romantic!
And I had the sweetest job at the Lucas Theatre tonight!
Literally!
I gave out Valentines to more than four hundred and seventy-five patrons as they wandered past me and near me and even straight to me!

"Here's looking at you, KID"

"We'll always have PARIS"

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful FRIENDSHIP"

"Play it, SAM"

"The world will always welcome LOVERS"

And each and every one
of those Valentines
had been fashioned by the good folks at the Lucas.

And each and every one
of those Valentines
had a luscious chocolate,
with a fortune on the
inside wrapper,
attached to the card.

And I gave out almost every one of them, personally handing them to folks with a smile and a wish for a "Happy Valentine's Day!"
Seriously, it was the best job I ever had.
And I wasn't even scheduled to usher tonight.
I simply showed up and was given this job.
The right place, at the right time.
Thanks, Haley and Erin, for making my Valentine's Day extra special!

I thank You, God!