Up & Coming Weekly

THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET by MARGARET DICKSON THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET But What If She Says “No?” Just when you begin to think you might have seen it all, something fl abbergasting crosses your path, and your faith in the wonder and creativity of humanity is affi rmed. I had just such an “Ah, ha!” moment last week when the Best Daughter Ever emailed me a YouTube video of a young man proposing to his sweetheart very publicly in Madison Square Park in New York. It is labeled as the “Most Elaborately Choreographed Proposal Ever,” and it just might be. A narrator begins by telling the viewer that a young woman thinks she is in the park to watch her beau working on a documentary fi lm of some sort, but when she alone is escorted to a chair in the middle of the park, she must have known something was up. Even more so when music fi red up and clowns, singers and dancers, including her tall, lanky boyfriend begin performing in front of her. I cannot imagine what the other park visitors not in on the proposal thought as they stopped to watch the show. Somewhere in this routine, the performers strip off their identical blue T-shirts to reveal other shirts, all but one reading “He Hearts You.” The beau’s shirt says “I Heart You.” Then they whip out a series of hand-lettered signs telling her that all he wants is to make her happy every day of their lives, whereupon a costumed unicycle rider cruises by, the tall young man skips over to his seated girlfriend, kneels and presents her with a box presumably containing an engagement ring. She covers her face with her hands, nods, and they walk away from the camera in each other’s arms as confetti rains down over the park. This little vignette apparently has a happy ending, at least for the time being, but it reminded me of another public proposal I actually witnessed that did not go so well. Praise Worship Service Summer evening worship begins June 13th at 6 p.m. Come as you are! Bring the kids! Child Care Provided www.hpchurch.org Highland Presbyterian Church 910-485-2147 • ww 111 Highland Ave., Fayetteville w.hpchurch.org 6 UCW JUNE 9-15, 2010 910.321.1691  WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Years ago, I was sitting at a table for four in a highly recommended, but very small restaurant in Vancouver. There were eight tables all snuggled closely together in the limited space. My dinner companions and I were delighted to have gotten a table at all and were enjoying each other’s company when a 20-something couple, both dressed up for the evening, were seated at the table next to us. They had arrived in a big, black car which waited for them at the curb outside. Very shortly, the young man apparently excused himself from the table, but since they were speaking a language none of us could understand, we did not actually know what he said even though we were within hearing range. He returned quickly with a bouquet of gorgeous fl owers the size of a healthy toddler and presented them to the young woman who looked startled. Then he dropped to his knee and presented a box which everyone in the place could see contained a diamond ring, as the other woman at my table said, was the size of the “continent of Africa.” At this point, the wait staff and handful of other customers in the restaurant had begun a chorus of “Awws” since everyone was now in on the young man’s intention, whether we understood his actual words or not. To everyone’s dawning embarrassment and dismay, this young man was not getting the same reaction as the Madison Square Park public proposer. The young woman, now partially hidden behind the giant bouquet, closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and then began to speak. We did not understand her words, but it was clear that she was saying something along the lines of, “John, I am so fond of you and deeply fl attered, but……” The young man got off his knee, sat down, and the conversation No one in that tiny restaurant moved or spoke. Maybe we did not even breathe. After what seemed like a year, the young woman stood, departed the restaurant, got into the waiting car and drove away. The young man sat silently for a moment, as did we all. Then he paid the bill for their drinks and walked out, that breathtakingly lovely bouquet forgotten in his hand. I guess he had to fi nd a cab since his hired car was gone. Needless to say, I have never forgotten that young couple with whom a handful of strangers shared what had to be one of the most exquisitely and intimately painful moments of their lives. I think of them every time I hear about a proposal delivered by billboard or banner towed behind an airplane over a football stadium or some other grand gesture. What if she, or he, does say “no?” All marriage proposals are a risk, and whoever makes them in whatever setting. I am delighted for the young couple in New York whom YouTube records walking off into the sunset in a loving embrace. His extravagant and internationally public risk apparently paid off. But…… MARGARET DICKSON, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. 

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