Prepare yourself, reader, for another pulse-pounding episode of...
![]() |
The Summer of 1997 was a special one for me. I saw the mindnumbingly bad Batman & Robin, I started work at the hodgepodge of 2x4's that became the Wild Wild Web offices, and I got my very own "cease and desist" letter from Spelling Entertainment. I also met the woman who is now my wife. (Hello, Judy!)
Judy and I immediately hit it off. Even though we met in Boston, we're New Yorkers by nature, and we share many interests and a warped sense of humor. Hey, I knew we were on the right track when, for our second date, she happily agreed to see the giant bug movie, Mimic. ![]() On the flip side, I earned major points with my kindness, humor, compassion, intelligence, and -- above all -- my humility. She was also delighted whenever I sent her flowers. ![]() Toward the end of February, I knew that Judy was the woman I wanted to marry. But how to pop The Question? I had to banish Melrosian images of "Daah, Alison Pahker, will ya marry me?" (Begone, Andrew Shue, begone!) "Ah ha," I thought. "I'll take her to the observation deck of Boston's John Hancock Tower and propose there!" I casually suggested that we take a walk through downtown Boston on Sunday, March 1, to celebrate our six-month anniversary. "Perhaps we could go up to the John Hancock Tower?" "Oh, I've never been there," she said. Excellent! The Master Plan was in effect! Upon reaching the middle of Boston on that drab, cloudy March 1st, we saw that the top of the Hancock building was covered in fog! ![]() We then went for a stroll through the mall at adjacent Copley Plaza. As we walked past the Tiffany's store, I said, "Hey, let's take a peek." I certainly wasn't thinking of buying an engagement ring there, so I don't know why I suggested that. Besides, if I did buy the ring from Tiffany's, Judy would have dumped me for being a financially dangerous madman. (Leave off the first part of that description, and you're set.) Anyhow, she spied a simple silver ring that caught her fancy, and she impulsively decided to buy it. She then put her new ring on the middle finger of her left hand. My mind raced in an irrational panic! "Uh, that's the finger next to the ring finger. Once I get the engagement ring, there'll be … a Ring Conflict!" Composing myself, we continued on to the adjoining mall at the Prudential Center, where I made my own impulse buy: a video of Pinky and the Brain cartoons. ![]() Taking a deep breath, I turned to her and said, "You know, if we had made it to the Hancock building, I was going to ask you a question." Her eyes, still focused ahead on the TV, suddenly widened in realization! I then slid off the couch, got down on one knee, took her hand, and did it. The response, I'm happy to say, was an immediate "Of course I'll marry you!" And it was a busy year after that! We were married November 15, 1998 in New Jersey. The DJ at the reception wisely played The B-52's, Billy Idol, and Frank Sinatra. The dancing bears were also a success, despite the unfortunate mauling incident at the omelette station. Married life gets a thumbs-up! --Ken Hart |