A Day of Love

Let’s put aside all the saccharine expressions of romantic love for the time being. That’s the roses, the chocolates, the stuffed animals, the jewelry, and the like. This morning I was reminded that today is the one year anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

One year?

I encourage you all to take a moment and remember the seventeen people who were murdered that day. Here is a report with their names, ages, photographs, and a little about their lives. It’s impossible for me to make it through the list without welling up with tears.

That feeling right there, that’s love. It’s love for strangers. For people who I’ve never met. It doesn’t matter what their political ideologies may have been. Or where they came from. This hits deep in the gut. For the lives lost. For the families who are left behind. For the friends and teachers who witnessed the horror.

It’s a very Jewish notion that all of our joys are tinged with sorrow. We don’t forget. We always remember. And we make sure to celebrate joyful moments whenever we can, like today.

Mrs. Fussy and I came up with a new plan. We’ve both been working a lot, and while lobsters and champagne would be nice, it was feeling a little stiff. More than anything, we both could use a relaxing night. Preferably something without cooking or dishes. But we also didn’t want to go out either.

Then I remembered one of the sexiest foods in the world: Mapo tofu. Speaking of lives tragically lost, have you ever seen the Tony Bourdain clip about his favorite Sichuan dish?

What’s extra magical about mapo tofu is that it travels really well. So I’m going to go to one of the better Sichuan places in the region, bring this home, and Mrs. Fussy and I are going to eat it in bed, with beer, while watching some Rom Com on Netflix.

I have a funny feeling that most people do this kind of thing a lot. We never do. I don’t think we’ve ever done it. Ever. And I can’t wait. It sounds perfect.

This is how I know I’ve married the right person.

For those who are less into a celebration of romantic love, perhaps you can find something else you love and celebrate that today. You’ve probably heard it said that “beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” So that can be a good place to start. Instead of buying something lavish for someone who conflates gifts with love, maybe you save your money and buy yourself something nice at the beer store.

There is also a big beer festival happening soon in Saratoga Springs on February 23. And there are going to be some amazing regional breweries represented there including Plan Bee, Unified Beerworks, Peekskill, Frog Alley, Rare Form, and from a bit further afield LIC Beer Project, among many many others.

I’ll be there with Yelp, and you can buy a ticket and join me. Or you can enter to win a pair of tickets for free on Yelp today. As of now the odds are quite favorable, and it only takes one click to enter. The winner will be announced on Friday, so there is still plenty of time to buy a ticket should random.org not pick your entry number.

Now the only thing left for me to do is decide which Sichuan place to order the tofu from, and what beer I should get to wash it down. I’m curious, what are your Valentine’s Day plans?