Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Best. Cracker Jack Prize. Ever.

About a year ago, my sister and my brother-in-law were at a Red Sox game. Manny Ramirez hit a foul ball, a line drive right off the bat into Tom's face. He's totally fine, just an ever-so-slightly visible scar from the requisite stitches above his eye. My sister, on the other hand, is still a little twitchy. I suppose that's what happens after you've followed your husband (bleeding profusely from a head wound) out of Fenway Park on a stretcher, but every time Manny came up to bat at the game on Sunday, we took turns yelling, "Duck!

I suppose it's only natural, then, for Tom to lean over and anxiously inquire, "Who's wounded now?" after I yelled "Oh My God!" and dropped a bag of Cracker Jacks/ And indeed, the look on my face absolutely makes me look like I've been shot in the gut.




In reality, I'm having an ecstatic emotional reaction to finding an engagement ring in my Cracker Jacks.



Oh yes, I was completely surprised. Joel got up in the third inning to get snacks. He came back with a Fenway frank, an open bag of Cracker Jacks and a soda. He was totally playing it cool, finishing off the hot dog, sharing his Coke. I must have stuck my hand in the Cracker Jacks bag, oh, what? Like six or seven times? Finally, I was like, "Ugh, this is too sweet. Take these away from me."

I hand him the bag and say, "Why is it so heavy?" He half-heartedly shrugs, keeping one eye on the game. I look down, and it's a testament to the fact that I'm now completely a multimedia journalist (instead of just a photojournalist) that my first thought was, "Somebody put part of an omnidirectional shotgun microphone in the Cracker Jacks!" not realizing it was a black velvet ring box.

Then I dropped it back into the bag and yelled "Oh my God!" As I'm shaking and telling Tom I'm not wounded, just surprised, I manage to ask Joel to take off the telephoto lens and put on a wide angle. Then the Red Sox scored, and as everyone is cheering and screaming, Joel says, "Are you going to marry me then?"

I said yes and we kissed and Amanda yelled, "She said YES!" and a very nice man two rows down says, "I'm a notary public. I could marry you right now. Well, I could if we were in the state of Maine." Which was a very nice offer.



Best. Cracker Jack Prize. Ever.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMG CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

So happy for you & Joel!!! Love the You Tube video!!

Mom

Katie said...

CONGRATULATIONS YOU GUYS!

Lauri said...

Sooo I just got off the phone with my sister and she told me all about you and Joel getting engaged and I was flipping out all excited but then was like, "But there was no blog post about it today!!" So then I ran upstairs to my computer and here it is!!! HOORAY!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! :-) I LOVE your ring :-)

Unknown said...

Yay! I've been waiting for a picture of the ring!
So, so happy for the two of you. And love the video. :)

Michelle said...

What kind of stone is in your ring? SO PRETTY!!! And why, may I ask, was Joel wearing a Mets shirt at a Red Sox game (I know they weren't playing the Mets because the Mets were playing the Yankees that night...)??? You are going to have the most photographed/videotaped/you-tubed engagement/wedding EVER!!! I'm so happy for you both! That was a brilliant way to give someone a ring!

Anonymous said...

YAAAAYYYY!!! This is such awesome news, congratulations to you both!

I am completely, stupidly excited for you guys. MWAH!!

Chunky Photojournalist Barbie said...

Thanks, everyone! :)

Lauri, I didn't post this right away because we wanted to call our parents and a few others first. Also, I wanted to edit together the video (which is kind of time-consuming), and I had a big assignment in Manhattan, which involves all kinds of interesting commuting and driving challenges.

The ring is an opal, which I was really, really hoping for. Shannon helped me drop all kinds of "hints" (we all but erected a billboard) at her birthday party last fall, as it is October's birthstone. Joel contacted a man in Australia who mines and polishes the stones himself (I think he actually goes somewhere with a pickaxe and digs out the stones) and has a friend who does the settings. We both like that the money goes directly to the artisans, it's all conflict-free, etc etc.

Joel is wearing a Mets shirt to a Red Sox game to demonstrate his hatred of the Yankees. He claims that only true Red Sox fans will understand the gesture, and on more than one occasion, men in and around Fenway yelled "Let's go, Mets! We get it, man!" so.... I guess he was right?

We are stupidly excited, too. :)

Unknown said...

Angie -- Gaby says she likes the married one (video). But she initially was concerned you couldn't see the baseball game, and then she said there was a lot of kissing.

Lo Lo said...

OHHH my goodness, congrats Angie! I can't believe you were here in Boston this weekend! I went to the Sox game on Friday night! :)

lauren said...

Fabulous news! Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

YAY! Congratulations! You are so cute!

ethnically ambiguous said...

Congratulations Angie! I'm glad that your Queer Eye moment came sooner than later. It looks like we will have one more thing to scrapbook about when we finally have our ladies night. I can't wait to see the ring up close and personal and to hug the newest members of the "club". Baelin sends his congratulations via kick :) see ya'll soon.

Anonymous said...

YEAAAA!!! I'm so excited for you guys. Goose bumps. Thrilled. You made my Wed.! ;)

Cara said...

Oh, so great! Congrats to both of you. :-)

Carl said...

Congratulations!

You'll be trashing your dress, right?

Anonymous said...

hoo-RAY!

fun story, lovely ring, awesome people.
a lifetime of happiness to you both!

Anonymous said...

HOOOOORAY! Tons of love and congratulations to you both. And what a great engagement story! The photos are priceless and make me all kinds of teary. Must. Celebrate. Soon!