It was a crisp night in the city of brotherly love, the kind that made you want to stay home, if home was anywhere other than the one you actually lived in.  But it wasn’t, so I ventured out of my lonely exsistance determined to find love in this town.  But the cold, cruel faces of Philadelphia held nothing for me, so I decided to get a paper and a cup of coffee and retreat to some local dive.  The corner was littered with battered boxes of free words that might offer some companionship for a short time, so I reached a gloved hand to pull open the door…and there he was, standing guard of the plethora of freebies, refusing to let me enter without forcing smile across my lips.  His oddly squared purple body danced across a postal sticker as if it were the most natural habitat on the face of the earth, wide black eyes half filled with cheery highlights, plump juicy red tongue resting below his smiling teeth, triangular arms outstretched to give me a hug.  I had found my dose of Philadelphia love.  His name was Huggie!

From that moment on, I began to see Huggie! leaping stickers everywhere.  His face brightened light posts, abandoned buildings and street signs.  My bold new love creature made his way to Mayor Nutter’s Zombied forehead, he searched for lost socks seeming determined to brighten my day.  I was smitten.  I was determined.  I would meet the mysterious creator of my new found smile.  And I found him…although I’ll never reveal how.

He called himself Juan Bolas de Madera, and whether it’s true or not, doesn’t really matter.  He agreed to meet me after dark in a smoky little café to tell me more.  My heart was aflutter.  How would I know him?  What would I say?  I found a small table and waited for him to arrive.  I didn’t need to worry.  He strode in like a modern day Zoro and made his way to me as if was our destiny to meet.   We drank dark exotic coffees and he told me about his life’s work.

His mission was simple.  He wasn’t out to change the world or impose political views on an unsuspecting public, but simply wanted to change the streets of Philly, to add a little flavor, a little creativity, a burst of color.  Why not graffiti, I asked?  Because our hero is a kinder, gentler street artist, who’s cunning enough not to risk his art being stopped by legal repercussions, or take his art to that kind of level to spread the love.

Armed with devilish good looks, our artist began his reign of spreading good in the Peace Corps, working for a non profit organization in Loja, Southern Equador, near Peru.  During a local election of about 15 different parties, he noticed color coded posters everywhere and decided to post a fake election poster of Jefferson Perez, the only Ecuadorian to ever win a gold medal, in race walking.  The poster showed Perez, crossing a finishing line with the words…”Walking fast to a better future”.  He made a wheatpaste, a mixture of vegetable starch and water, used as an adhesive since ancient times, painted it onto his creation and the rest is history.

Back in Philly, he took note of local sticker artists like El Toro.  Upgrading from wheatgrass, he armed himself with any stickers he could find.  “Hello my name is”, priority mail stickers, anything would work.  His weapons were paint pens and sharpies.  There is no computer for our artist, no fancy printer or photoshop.   Each Huggie! is created by hand, although he has been known to allow a small circle of friends the honor of coloring in his famous friend.  Huggie! has now traveled around the world, often to places his creator has only dreamed of.  By trading with his small community of sticker revolutionaries, Huggie! Now grins from as far as Pyramids, Thailand, and South America spreading the love.

And then it happened.  Armed with a pocket full of hugs, my hero invited me on his journey.  Like Lois Lane clutching Superman for a midnight flight, I grabbed my camera and flew out the door with the superhero of street arts.  He disappeared beneath his hoodie, obscuring himself from all but me, and we ran into the night to paper this town with our little friend.  His razor sharp focus was feral.  His stride blazingly quick as he spotted a target, dove into his bag, drew out the perfect Huggie! and affixed him to his new home.  Arms stretching higher than I ever thought possible, he reached street signs with the agility of a cat, selecting the Huggie!, the perfect color, for the perfect spot.  “Lost sock” signs with a ironic humor that still makes me giggle.  I struggled with my camera settings to keep up with him, but then again it was like trying to capture a wild animal in flight.

And then it was over.  His pockets empty, my artist vanished into the night, as if he only exists as long as there is a pocket full of love with which to paper the city.  Whenever I’m feeling lonely, I will remember to look in the most ordinary of places to find evidence of true love, a simple smile, or simply the message…I haz hugs.