It was a cold, rainy November night when my husband proposed in front of the South Carolina statehouse Christmas tree. There were supposed to be singers and a tree lighting but the events were cancelled and it was dark and foggy and no one was there. Well, no one but me, my now fiancé, and Albert.

The minute I said, “yes” and my husband jumped up to hug me, we heard him. Maybe a hundred yards away, we heard the yell of a man in a wheelchair shouting, “I love love!”

He crossed Gervais street all the while yelling, “oh man, I saw the whole thing! I love love!”
When he approached us he had the biggest smile on his face. He told us his story, my husband handed him some money and he went on his way.
Albert was the first person to congratulate us on our engagement. Not parents, not friends, Albert.

A month later we decided to honor him by taking a box full of things that the local mission needed for the holidays. This became known as the Albert box.
Over the years and moves, the box has seen better days but we always pull it out at Christmas, remembering our engagement story and making donations in honor of Albert.

This year, our daughter asked to make her own “love”bags in honor of the man who “loved love.”
Today we picked up some socks, chapstick, and a few other needed items and made the bags which we will hand out around our town.

And Albert can continue to love love.