Will you? Yes!
In July of 1996, I was living in Juneau for a summer job, soaking up as much Alaskana as I could. Attending the fireworks at 11:59 pm on the 3rd sounded like a grand adventure. My friend, Dave, suggested that we up the adventure and watch them from a kayak. We borrowed a car and a double kayak and launched in the dark waters of Lynn Canal. It was a gorgeous night. The full moon was out. The fireworks mirrored perfectly in the smooth water. Festive firework watchers called out to us from the shore and Douglas Bridge above. Afterward, a bagpiper struck up a tune under the bridge, and a half dozen other kayakers appeared for the impromptu concert, emerging around us from the darkness. Corny as it may sound, it was a magical and romantic evening.
Flash forward five years. It was a cloudy, rainy, blustery Tuesday – July 3rd, 2001. Dave suggested we watch the fireworks from kayaks again, “like old times.” Nah, I responded. I had plenty of excuses. We had just come off a long weekend, kayak camping on the back side of Douglas. The weather was crummy. We had an invitation from friends to watch the fireworks from the comfort of a warm home on Douglas. But Dave was insistent. So we launched our kayaks in the spitting rain into the dark, swirling waters of Lynn Canal. The tide was so strong I paddled in place for 10 minutes before making any headway. Once we got under the bridge, we had to paddle constantly against headwinds just to stay in place. Drunks on the shoreline cursed and shot bottle rockets at us. More than once I suggested we turn tail and head to our friend’s house. And then the first fireworks launched into the air. Dave reached across the gap between our boats, pulled me closed and kissed me. A ring appeared from some obscure location. With fingers frozen from the cold wind, I took it, desperate not to fumble it into the depths. “Will you be my wife?” he asked. Friends strategically placed on the bridge received a walkie-talkie call from Dave shortly after I said “yes!” and a whole section of the bridge began cheering for us. Corny as it may sound, it was a magical and romantic evening.