A GUY, A GIRL AND A BIG GIANT HEAD

It was early January, 2001 when I asked Julie to marry me. We were in Las Vegas with her family. After dinner one night all of us strolled through the Promenade in the Rio Hotel. Mostly we were window shopping. The promenade is on the second floor and is open in the center where you can see the casino below.

After we had been walking for a while we noticed that we had lost Julie’s mother. Thinking that she had made a detour into one of the shops, we stopped and turned around to find her. Instead of finding her in one of the stores, we saw her speaking to a Big Giant Head. The Head was ten to fifteen feet in height and was suspended from the ceiling. The Head wore a carnival mask  consistent with the Rio’s Brazilian Carnival theme. We all stepped up to the banister and listened as the Big Giant Head engaged Julie’s mother in conversation.  Soon the Big Giant Head began to ask Julie questions about herself: What was her name? Where was she from? What did she do for a living? After several minutes of discussion, the questions became more personal. The Head asked Julie who I was. She replied, “My boyfriend, Kurt.”

“How long have the two of you been going out?”

“Three years,” Julie replied.

“That’s a long time,” said the Head. “Are you two engaged?”

Julie said, “Um…  No.”  She blushed and nervously glanced back at her family.

The head turned to me and asked, “Why not?”

I could see myself in the Head’s picture tube eyes. I responded, “I’m just waiting for the right time.”

“Hmmm,” the Head said, “let me ask you a question, Julie.  If Kurt were to ask you to marry him what would you say?”

“I’d say, yes.” Julie replied, as the redness of her cheeks deepened.

“And Kurt, what would you say if Julie asked you to marry her?”

I replied, “I’d say, yes.”

The Big Giant Head spoke again, “Well, now that you know the answers to the questions, all someone needs to do is ask.” The Big Giant Head turned and focused on me as it spoke.

“You’re sort of putting me on the spot,” I said to the Head.

The Head’s computer generated mouth turned down and became a frown. It said, “The only spot you need be concerned with is the one where you put your knee.”

I looked around. Everyone was focused on me, including a few onlookers that had joined the group surrounding the Head. I could feel the stares of Julie’s family members. I looked over at Julie and I could see she was waiting for me to make a joke and bring an end to the interrogation.

Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down. I found myself dropping to one knee. I realized that no other opportunity would arise that would be as memorable as this. I knew in that instant that us getting married couldn't be more right. I looked up at Julie and asked, “Will you marry me?”

As the last word came out of my mouth I heard a collective gasp behind me. Julie looked back at me and said, “Yes,” and her eyes filled with tears. I stood up and kissed her and then wrapped my arms around her and hugged her close. We both looked around and saw that her mother, her Aunt Nancy and her cousins Katy and Heather were all crying and the onlookers were clapping. I was congratulated by Julie’s grandfather, uncle, and stepfather (after he returned from the restroom and discovered what had happened).

After taking some pictures with the Big Giant Head, Julie and I walked off hand-in-hand and began our journey into our new future together.