Dear ones,
The short answer to the question, Is Valentine’s Day canceled? is No, but it should be.
If we’ve learned nothing else these past twelve months, it’s that expressing gratitude and affection shouldn’t be relegated to one misty day in February.
We’re going to talk about love and gratitude today, but perhaps, not in the usual way.
Take a moment to express gratitude to the death penalty abolitionists in Virginia, and to thank Governor Northam, in advance, for signing the bill to end the use of capital punishment in VA.
A friend of a friend of a friend helps to organize this baking fundraiser each year; you can have chocolate-chip vegan scones delivered to someone anywhere in NYC on Valentine’s Day and support the Women’s Prison Association and VOCAL-NY.
I am a deeply romantic person with no patience for fake sentiment or fussy occasions. But food is love, every day, and some folks need the new abnormal to imitate features of the stupid-old-normal. That doesn’t make them stupid. Give them what they need. Plus, there’s contactless delivery by someone in costume.
Order some scones for a sweet person in your life!
The Okra Project, a collective that prepares and delivers “free, delicious, and nutritious meals to Black Trans people experiencing food insecurity,” is doing important love-and-justice work. Here’s the origin of their project’s name:
During the Middle Passage, our African ancestors snuck okra onto captive ships to sustain themselves and plant in the new world. Black Diasporic cooking traditions often use the okra plant for its versatility and it is often associated with health, prosperity, and community.
Support The Okra Project!
I would like to include a proper credit for the artist (below), but I cannot. This image was in an email I received from JFREJ the other day. The roses are perfect, don’t you think?
I’ve been glued to the impeachment hearings, so I’m taking tomorrow off. Also, it’s the Lunar New Year. So kiss the Year of the Rat goodbye and warmly welcome the Year of the Ox, which is associated with “hard work, positivity, and honesty.” My sister, who was born in the Year of the Ox, signs her emails this way:
OXen,
L