My Funny Valentine

Behold my Teddy, my Valentine for all time. Not one to "prop" my beloved canis majorae by dressing them in human garb, I came to this particular shot by way of a party favor--shot in a lost moment of whimsy, years past, forgotten til today, as I browsed through some ancient frames. Happy here he is not--unused to wearing hats, he was bored and confused as he dutifully posed to indulge my silly whim. Loyal, loving, obedient to a fault, he was my beloved Sancho Panza as we tilted at the East Hampton windmill on our way between the dunes of Southampton and the Hudson Valley hills. He is gone now, to rest with the angels that only dogs can see, but to me he will ever be my Valentine.

One must take the bitter with the sweet in this world; to do otherwise would be to deny oneself the ability to distinguish between them, and thus the ability to know joy. We learn of corruption and despair, fraud and theft, the erosion of our political system--hearts broken, we rally to rescue, building in numbers as we work to right the wrongs and protect our Constitution; and in the process, we are blessed with the gift of thousands of other kindred souls; our shared values and love of country and one another is the chocolate that fuels us for the long haul. I am daily honored to know and work with so many brilliant, committed, hard working Americans in all walks of life; I gain courage from the bravery of our troops, and hope from those with whom I work in the movement to save our beloved country. Is it perfect? Of course not--nothing created by humans, themselves imperfect, could be. But therein lies the joy and the miracle: how do we, imperfect humans that we are, manage to create so much wonder, beauty, love and inspiration? It is the beauty of the human psyche, despite all its imperfections, that makes us what we are. Some would call it Spirit, some would all it Soul. I call it Love, in all its imperfect glory.

And, so it goes...things change...we don't always know whether for better or for worse, except that, ultimately, as one of my beloved mentors used to say, "All Things Work For Good." Out of pain comes joy...fear, courage...and, most importantly, out of Chaos, Order. If you doubt this, stand in the middle of Grand Central Station at rush hour and behold what seems utter mayhem. Then consider what it will look like two hours later, when all the scrambling souls have found their ways home, a fitting end to another day. The bitter scourge of loss gives way to new love...witness Baby Lulu here, my desperate antidote to the loss of my Teddy, just three weeks from his passing. I raced to Princeton, where my friend Ann Johnson breeds Gold-Rush darlings and was followed to the car by this waddling little wad of fur who sat in my lap as we drove north, looked out the window, and promptly threw up, after which she curled up and slept all the way home with a smile on her puppy face. She is indeed a Lulu, but the perfect antidote to a heart broken by the loss of a noble friend. She has taught me a lot, but most of all, I have learned that life goes on, and "it's all good"-- even the bad and the ugly. God takes many forms, and I rejoice in them all.

Happy Valentines Day, all, and don't forget to tune in to tonight's edition of "Kicking Back With Central Park", 11:00 PM EST on Blog Talk Radio! Click on the link to the right or go to
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Central-Park-7