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They say true love is blind. Well, if Brad Zinnack is any indication, it must also be immune to inclement weather.

Tired of the traditional Valentine's Day flower/chocolate routine, Zinnack came up with a novel way of expressing love for his wife of 11 years.

He let anyone who happened to drive through downtown Wednesday morning know it by standing at Park and North Main streets armed with a giant, red heart-shaped sandwich board that read: "My Heart Belongs To Christine."

On the back of the heart, Zinnack painted "Eph. 5:25," a reference to a biblical chapter and verse which reads: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it."

The sleet swept down, the snow turned to slush and Zinnack's cheeks turned bright red from the frigid wind, but there he stood. "I figured this would definitely get her attention, and it did," said the self-employed painter and father of a 20-month-old boy.

But making sure his wife actually saw the message took a bit of creative negotiation on his part. In other words, he lied.

"I told her my car broke down, and I was at Speedie on North Main and needed a ride," he said.

Sure enough, she drove by minutes later. The moment, he said, was priceless.

"It brought tears to her eyes," he said. "She was obviously happy."

His wife left him there, all smiles and shivers, while she went to pick up her mother so she, too, like hundreds of morning commuters, could share his Valentine's Day gift.