By Lina Broydo
There are many ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day: some love Belgian chocolates and some enjoy receiving a bouquet of beautiful and aromatic roses, followed by a gourmet champagne dinner with your honey in an intimate French restaurant. And some may be lucky with a surprise gift of a trip to Venice, Italy in hope to be serenaded by a gondolier maneuvering his decorated for romance gondola on the many charming canals in this stunning city.
Me? I love all of the above mentioned, but my sentimental and enriching memories of my unforgettable trip with my late husband Sasha to Philadeplia is my top choice of romance. Surprised?
Just like an overture to the opera, every trip to the East Coast should start with a visit to Philadelphia. Our passion for history, culture, music, hot fare with cold beer and the amazing arts influenced Sasha and I to spend three fun days in Philadelphia. What could be more meaningful, educational and fun than enjoying the city which played an important role in the birth of the United States and was even once a temporary U.S. Capital? It was here that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed and the glorious Liberty Bell rang proudly at the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776.
And where is the “my romance” you may ask? And this brings me to the memories of the LOVE sculpture, by artist Robert Indiana (1928-2018), which came to be embraced by Philadelphians as a distinctive icon for the city known also as the City of Brotherly Love (from the Greek: Phileo – “to love”, adelphos – “brother”). Standing thirteen feet high (six feet of artwork atop a seven-foot base), the colorful aluminum sculpture became a marker of identity for the surrounding plaza, increasingly known only as “Love Park” and a must place for the photo-ops for the millions of visitors to this historic city. Robert Indiana died in 2018 at the age of 89. The legacy of LOVE, his Pop Art masterpiece, continues to hold an important place in the history of art—and in the hearts of people all over the world. In February 2018 — after a year away from public view — the sculpture returned with a new color scheme of red, blue and purple instead of blue.
Love is in the air and definitely in Philadelphia. Leafing through my photo album of the beautiful memories of our visit to Philadelphia, makes my Valentine’s Day annual celebration very special, loving and uniquely emotional.
To my question: “Why is the letter “O” in the word “LOVE” is crooked? Our tour guide, who was married three times, explained that love is not perfect.
Well.. it was perfect for me… and I miss Sasha every day.
Lina Broydo, Award Winning Writer/Columnist/Blogger, Lives in California
