V-Day

It’s 2008. My best friend (yes, canine) had transitioned more than a month ago, and the loss was tremendous. I had to do something to express my continuing love for him. “Would you be interested in a guerrilla poetry action?” I asked a new human friend, Shannon, a talented artist. “Yes!” she said. And so the Love Fairies were born, and the first Emmett Event commenced, dateline, Valentine’s Day.

There were three of us, including Emmett’s mother-in-dog (he had been married to Dinah’s dog Sasha). We wore costumes, of course, all reds and pinks with glitter and glam, painted our faces, and secured big-ass flowers in our hair. We were glorious — love incarnate.

Downtown that evening, we wandered the streets, strolled through parks, and along the way handed out small square cards I had created. One side featured a black and white photo of Emmett with the bright red caption, Love-Dog. The other side — in a large, black, adamant font — read, you are loved. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” we said to one and all, living proof that V-Day is not just for couples, everyone is loved, regardless. After a few hours, we went in the library with the last of the cards, and I sat while the other Love Fairies made a quiet circuit. I was tired. Sad. And completely satisfied. May we feel loved, every day.