 What would you say if you saw someone in your piazza with a card around their neck saying “Free Hugs”? Well, I decided to find out on Valentines Day this year. The movement called Free Hugs was the brainchild of Australian Juan Mann in 2004 who simply wanted to “share the love” with the world.
I thought, what better day to do “free hugs” than February 14th? I told a few friends and I got an enthusiastic response. I had it in my mind to do it, but there was always some little reason why I didn’t start organizing it. (One key reason was feeling foolish). Days and weeks passed, while I thought of the best place to hold the happening. Certainly not in my own town, that would be embarrassing… maybe a nearby village.
Finally, on the morning February 14th, I happened to run into a friend that knew about my plans, but had to work that day. “Yes, I’ll be doing free hugs this afternoon”, I told her. When I say something, I do it. I might as well do it in Bassano. Now I was hooked. I sent out a few e-mails to friends in Bassano, hoping at least one person would have nothing better to do this afternoon. I made a central meeting point on the bridge at 3:30 PM, made up a few signs saying “abbracci gratis” (“free hugs” in Italian); put them around my neck and under my red parka.
Then I donned my red beret at set out to meet any potential huggers. After a half hour, no sign of anyone. I had set the starting time for 4:00 PM so I headed out to the piazza, alone.
Luckily a couple of friends happened to be in town with their baby son so I told them about my plan and asked if they would take a few pictures with my camera. They would also be nearby to give me courage.
Then I took a deep breath, opened my jacket, showed my sign, and held open my arms. A few seconds later a woman ran up to me and gave me a big hug! My first one! A second later number two, this one a man, then a minute later a group of teenagers. My face was lit up with a huge smile as I hugged more and more people.
I hugged men, women and children, black and white, weak and strong, rich and poor. I hugged two women with minks. One nun (after I insisted). A group of mentally challenged (aren’t we all?). All told, about 100 hugs in one hour.
When they asked me why my answer was: Universal love. Sometimes I added, “for Valentine’s day”.
I guess it was a crazy/courageous thing to do, and the people in my town must have thought I was nuts. But this was my best Valentine’s day ever… except for one side effect– my mouth hurt from smiling so much!
www.freehugscampaign.org.
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