Alphabet of Love

This selection and its somewhat haphazard direction of how so many of us interact romantically-on the surface-is a gentle reminder that be it fate, chance, or will, we appear destined to carry out our mission to couple and partner, no matter what the cause or effect. If we truly desire companionship, at all cost, there is probably someone out there seeking the same measure-for better or worse. Whether it is simply ourselves, or the likes of Nathanael West ("Day of the Locus"), Amadeus Mozart ("The Dogs of Amadeus"), Mark Twain ("Mark Twain's Cigar"), Natalie Wood ("The Late Natalie Wood"), or the poor children who haunt the camps at Terezin and Auschwitz (" Little Ghosts"), we are all in need of the dose of kindness that love's dispensary provides if we are fortunate enough to find it, hidden or not, among us. Whether or not a higher power is at work to guide us and grant us "The Word," or we are determined to discover a path towards salvation through the generous acts of others-or ourselves-we follow an unconscious path, at times, and seek refuge, where possible, in places and locations we might have never imagined to investigate and bear witness. It may be upon "The Road to Jerusalem," aboard "The New Train," or in "The Terminal of Grief," yet we still search for solace and speak the only common language we understand, this pursuit of love we may even try to escape-but never deny.