Sunday, August 1, 2010

Proposal: Skating in Boston

As told by a bystander....


Last November, I was skating at Frog Pond in Boston on the season opening weekend.  It was a Friday night, right before Thanksgiving, and I was on a blind date.  There wasn't any snow yet, and the air was just cold enough to keep the ice solid. Skating seemed like a great first date:  an activity so lulls in conversation wouldn't be awkward, slightly romantic yet not overly so, and plenty of people watching.  After a while on the ice, they cleared the crowd so they could bring out the zamboni.  The typical popular soft-rock music changed to "Boston and St. John's" by Great Big Sea.  The pace of the song blended in with the others that had been playing, but the abrupt change mid song and the reduced popularity of this song made my ears perk up.  (It was a high school favorite of mine, but I knew it did not have much radio presence.)  It was then, that I glanced from my date to center ice, where all alone, in front of a small crowd of people, was a man on his knee with a ring in his hand and the woman of his dreams in front of him.  When their moment was over, and they came off the ice, everyone clapped and cheered.  In my mind, they too must have come to Frog Pond for their first date.  I could tell that he had long awaited the opening of this season for his chance to seal the deal.

Nothing ever did come from that first date, but it was warming to observe such a wonderful proposal.

- Wistful Observant, Boston

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