The Proposal

The other day, I was talking to Kaitlyn about how I proposed to Jennifer on the radio. I don't know how we got to talking about it but the topic came up and I remembered I had the actual proposal on a tape. I asked her if she wanted to hear it and she excitedly said "yes".

Now, the only problem was finding it.

I was fortunate to find it pretty easily in a spot in our closet where I have a few knick-knacks from the past. Some old airchecks, pictures with music stars and other goodies like that. But there it was, our proposal tape, right on the top of those other cassettes.

I called Jennifer and the boy into the room to listen together. I thought it'd be kinda cool to all take a trip down Memory Lane and hear how it all started.

We sat down in a circle around the tape player and began to listen. I was working for KIX-104 at the time, the top rated country station here in Fayetteville. Normally, the morning show consisted of me and my buddy Leny. However, this show was me by myself because Leny had gone away to see his mom for Christmas and had broken his leg while he was gone. So it was just me and I thought "what could I do to liven up the show a bit? I know...I'll propose to my girlfriend."

I had done all the right things: asked her dad and mom, bought the ring and most importantly, kept it all a secret. My ploy was to get her and her mom, who were up in Fayetteville visiting me, to join me in the studio for my last half hour on the air before my Christmas week off took place. My goal was to ask her to marry me on the last break of the hour and leave it on a good note.

Hopefully. LOL

So, to not make it too obvious, I not only had Jennifer and her mom in the studio with me, but about 10 other people from the station in there to discuss what we all wanted for Christmas. It came time for my last break and I had asked my best bud, roommate and eventual best man Tom Travis to come in and "sit in" with us. Acutally, he was going to engineer the board (control the volume on the microphones and start the music I'd selected at the proper time) while I stepped over to where Jennifer was and kneel before her.

The break started off just like I planned it. I asked people what they wanted for Christmas and I got a few silly answers.

"Peace on earth."

"Power Rangers."

"More bullets for my guns."

That was Tom's patent response to most everything. LOL

I then announced that Jennifer was there in the room with us and had come up to visit me for the holidays. So I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she replied, in her soft, southern charming way...

"to spend more time with you."

A chorus of "aaawwwww's" went up from the peanut gallery in the studio (while I'm sure a few people began to get nauseous in their cars) and then I started in.

Funny thing is...I don't remember sounding like such an oaf but the tape doesn't lie.

"There's only one thing that I want for Christmas but I need to come over there for a moment.." I said as I moved away from the control board to where Jennifer was standing.

"We're live here on the air and it's Christmas time and what I want for Christmas is for you to marry me" I blurted out.

I remember getting on my knee and opening up the ring box to show her and on the tape you hear Jennifer say "yes" over the mini-roar of applause and the pre-timed out music of John Michael Montgomery's "I Swear".

I remember it being a nice, romantic moment. The tape, however, had me sounding like a complete oaf!! What kind of knucklehead puffs up his chest and almost demands that his girlfriend marry him??

I was astounded at how doofish-like I sounded. What a complete moron. What an arrogant goofball.

As I sat there and listened to the tape and watched the kids and Jennifer giggle at how events unfolded, I was mortified at how barbaric I sounded. I got this picture of me in neanderthal gear, grabbing Jennifer by her pony tail, clubbing her over the head and dragging her back to the cave where she would now be my wife.

Ugh.

A marriage proposal so easy, even a caveman could do it, right? LOL

Hey...at least she said yes. But a quick word of insight...

I may have sounded like a club-wielding caveman but there's no doubt in anyone's mind who knows me who swings the bat in our family...

and I have the bruises to prove it. HA!!