Tony Snesko's Aerial Wedding Proposal
After 5 years in the Navy, one of which was on Swift Boats in Vietnam and two years on the LAPD, I realized that $750 per month wasn’t going to meet my needs, so I left the department and moved to San Diego to attend college. While attending college, I worked as a process server and managed a liquor store/deli part time. At the store one Saturday afternoon, I was ringing up a line of customers when I was suddenly overwhelmed by the most unbelievably fragrant perfume. Without looking up from the keys, I announced loudly, “Whoever is wearing that perfume, please step back because my hand is paralyzed on the keys.” I then looked up and, at the end of the line, there was a beautiful brunette taking small steps back, cheeks flushed and obviously embarrassed by my remark. I quickly rang up the customers in front of this ravishing long haired beauty and, as she approached the counter, I raised my leg and pretended to leap over the counter at her. Recoiling from my feigned advance, she took a step back and nearly knocked over a wine display. She shyly recovered, her cheeks blushing red, and reluctantly came back to the register, eyes down and focused on opening her purse and fumbling for the money to pay for her purchase. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her as I rang up her bottle of Sangria wine and a pack of Dentine gum, all the while she avoided making eye contact with me. She paid me, took her purchase and quickly exited.
I was sure that I would never see her again, but the following Saturday afternoon she returned. She was wearing a short gray knit dress that exposed her shapely legs that took my breath away. When she walked through the open glass doors, she was looking down, obviously avoiding my stare, and made a sharp left turn and walked to the deli counter. I was working the register in the center of the store and called out to Jim, who was working the deli counter, and said loudly “Switch” as I held two fingers aloft and spun them back and forth. As I stepped behind the deli case, I leaned forward, both arms resting on the tall case and with a broad smile said, “Can I help you?” Her striking beauty and perpetual blush gave her an air of sweetness and innocence. Still not looking at me, she timidly responded, “A quarter pound of thinly sliced ham please.” She then turned and walked over to the greeting card rack, obviously trying to avoid any further contact. She picked up a card, unaware that the card rack was filled with “R” rated greeting cards. I watched intently for her response as she read the front of the card and then opened it. Suddenly her eyes went wide as she slammed the card shut and quickly returned the card to the rack. She swiftly turned away, several shades redder, her gaze desperately trying to find anything to focus on other than me. Feeling a little sorry for her embarrassment, I very politely carried her neatly wrapped ham to the main register while she followed. I didn’t say anything as I rang up her ham, neatly wrapped in white butcher paper, and another pack of Dentine and then watched as she escaped and stepped into her 1970 dark green Corvette and drove away and my heart went with her.
I was in love and he needed to find her. I called my teenage brother, Jay, who lived one block away and told him that I needed a favor and to ride his bike to the store right away. Jay walked in just a minute later and I handed him a pack of Dentine, a note and some tape and asked him to ride in ever-widening circles around the store until he found a 1970 green Corvette and to tape the gum and note to the door handle. The note read, “I’m sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Tony. Please come back to the store let me introduce myself properly.”
About an hour later Jay came running into the store with a wide grin on his face and proudly said, “Found it and taped it.” I was elated and wondered how she would react to my tracking her down.
Two hours later her Corvette pulled up to the curb in front of the store and suddenly everything was in slow motion. I walked out to meet her as she stepped out of the car and started opening a pack of Dentine. As she walked toward me smiling and unwrapping a piece of the gum, she held it up to my mouth and said, “Tony should be fed.” and then slowly slipped it between my lips. By this time fireworks were going off in my brain and I could barely contain the desire to sweep her up in my arms.
Her name was Valerie and we talked for awhile and, after she agreed to go to dinner and dancing with me the following Friday, she drove away. Jim met me at the entrance to the store with a huge smile and said, “Very nice!” I lifted myself up and sat on a tall stack of beer cases by the front door and said, as I watched her pull out of the parking lot, “I’m going to marry her!”
I was in love and Valerie wasn’t ready for more than a dating relationship. We started dating regularly and for five months, on every date, I asked her to marry me. And on every date, she said NO! On February 18th I again asked her to marry me and she said “maybe,” and I knew immediately what I had to do.
I called the El Cajon Airport and tracked down the pilot of the bi-plane who towed advertisement banners above Pacific Beach. I told him that I wanted to hire him to tow my marriage proposal around the San Diego Sports Arena (where Valerie worked) the next day, February 19th, at exactly noon. I then called the local newspaper, radio and television stations and told them of my planned proposal and invited them to cover the story.
I then called her girlfriend and asked her to go to the Sports Arena just before noon and tell Valerie that I had a birthday surprise (her birthday was the following week) for her in the parking lot and requested that she come outside with her hands over her eyes.
The next day at 11:45, all of the radio, television and newspaper reporters were staged in the parking lot waiting for the plane and Valerie. At exactly noon, the biplane appeared towing the sign, “VALERIE SPARKS, I LOVE YOU, MARRY ME, TONY.”
Valerie was led out of the Sports Arena with her hands over her eyes and was guided to the center of the reporters and TV cameras. When the plane started to pass in front of her, her friend told her look up. When she took her hands from her eyes, the first thing she saw was the gaggle of reporters who had microphones in her face. Then she looked up and read the proposal. Her face lit up, smiling and then covered her face with her hands, wiping at the tears on her cheeks. She looked around and saw me standing about 20 feet away. She held out her hand to me motion for me to come to her and we embraced. Valerie accepted my wedding proposal and later that afternoon the San Diego Union Tribune had a huge above-the-fold photo of us kissing with the proposal flying above our heads and the proposal made the national news.
Later that day my brother Walter walked into the store, congratulated me and said, after all of this commotion, your wedding is going to be anti-climatic. It took a while to figure it out how, but our wedding was to be anything but anti-climatic.
To be continued.
To see Tony’s wedding proposal, watch it on YouTube.
