Photo of Kathleen Horan by Bryan Smith
On Valentine’s Day eve over seventy heartbroken singles assembled at Brecht Forum to give the holiday a pre-emptive kiss off with a “Wake for Love." The star of the night was an actual coffin set up for the bereaved to toss unwanted mementos from their dead affairs; according to WNYC reporter Kathleen Horan, who planned the wake, some of the items sent to their graves included a wedding dress, The Bob Dylan Chronicles book and plenty of bitter Valentine cards made out to the exes. (Sample: "Have A Real Swell Valentine's in Hell!") Horan also reports “a great deal of flirting over at the cheese platter.”
Most of the mourners had come together through Horan’s website, Relationship Obituaries, where wounded lovers post obituaries for their desiccated romances. Horan got the idea after she took solace in writing her father’s obituary while simultaneously going through a heavy break up. The obituaries on the site range from very sad to sort-of funny, like the woman who blames the cause of death on complications brought on by an IN-N-OUT Burger:
When the burger was attained, V let J have a bite. She liked it. A lot. She took another bite. And another. V couldn't take it anymore. "Enough already!" He snatched it back. "Get your OWN burger!"
Those are good burgers, J. Other noteworthy causes of death on Relationship Obituaries include “her irrational need to destroy the relationship and be as unhappy as her mother”, “Nexus, Kingdom of the Winds online game became more important than the person in the room”, and “HE FORGOT MY 50th BIRTHDAY!!” Oops!
There is a short video from the wake here. Did you make it through V-Day in one piece? If you've got a relationship cause of death that can top those, let's hear it!
