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Wonderful editors that lay out the Love/Bitch section. I'm sitting in New Zealand, reading a crinkly, month-old edition of The Coast that was definitely drenched at one point, that my family lovingly sends me from home. I begin to read as I usually do (check the photographer of the cover, and then read from back-to-front—goodies in the back, of course!) I arrive at the Love/Bitch section and do a quick scan: one love and five bitches. Hmm. That's a lot of bitching for a section that includes "love" in the title.

I check the date of the edition: week of January 9. Damn. At a time when Halifax is going through its post-holidaze recovery and many Scotians are actively struggling with depression, the one newspaper that hasn't totally fallen off the rails and still has decent content is really vibing with the shit. Yeah, it's funny. And yeah, it can make people feel better, sometimes. It's great to bitch it out and have others agree and validate it. But in a world where we're desperately needing some guiding light, and some seriously positive influence, do you think we could call back in some love, just a bit? There'd be an outrage if there'd been an interview that covered five hetero cis guys, one woman and no queens. I know there's more love in you, you can do it! — Love Is The Answer

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You put a sparkly Christmas pillow in a tree with a note about how it was up for grabs. I took it and gave it to my parents—they love that kind of shit, and they loved the pillow ("maybe we'll keep it out all year!"). Just wanted you to know that the pillow ended up in the perfect place. — Joy To The North End

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A dark 6am good morning.
A shared smile over baby giggles.
A held elevator on a busy day.
A quick chat as two tails wag.
Here's to all the little things that connect us to strangers in this crazy world. — Stranger