In June 1998 the Smokey Bear Hot air Balloon was in Southern CA at our local Firefighting Air Attack Base.
I was involved in the Volunteers In Prevention (VIP) for CDF (now Cal Fire), visiting schools to teach fire prevention. Well, I received a phone call at home from the person in charge of the VIPs, asking me to be a Representative in the balloon at the Airport Open House. So I was so excited, I could hardly wait to share with my "boyfriend" (now hubby) that I had been chosen to do this. When I saw him and shared my news, he said he also heard that (name not mentioned in blog) would be going up as the USFS Representative. He was happy for me, but bummed that he wouldn't be there. Well the day of the special event came and my "boyfriend" showed up in his uniform, to take me to the airport. I was a little curious why he was in uniform. He shared with me that his boss wanted him there in uniform, too. Hmm, okay, sounds good (I am a blond, so I was clueless). So at the pancake breakfast my little cousin said "do you know that......" and before she finished my aunt covered her mouth. Still clueless I went on my way. My dad (who also works for CDF) was there, as well as other family members. I was amazed to see that my grandparents were there too, as well as news reporters & cameras. WOW I thought this must be some balloon! So we drove down to the field in a CDF van (my "boyfriend", my dad & my aunt with her camera). The process to prep the air balloon began. Lots of people were gathering to see this. He said that so & so didn't show up, so his boss wanted him to go up in the balloon with me. After 1 hour of no success, the air balloon pilot came over to us. He stated that the winds were too strong, so we'd need to come back later to try again. I was okay with that, but my boyfriend was P.O. and we got back in the van. I was like, it's no big deal, I have a heat-headache and I'm hungry. So let's go home, eat some lunch, rest and come back. My dad leaned over and said to him "what's plan B?" Still clueless, I thought nothing of this comment. So we returned after some lunch, my head still throbbing. The winds still weren't cooperating, so they couldn't fly the balloon. The "cold air" version of this balloon (also about 10 times smaller) was on the ground in the middle of the activities. The pilots wanted to get our picture in front of this balloon. So my boyfriend came to the car where I was sitting and told me this news. I was not in the mood to have my picture taken due to my headache. However, I did what they wanted. I stood next to my boyfriend in front of the balloon.
I was amazed at how many people were gathering around us. I saw other FF friends, and news reporters. As the main photographer stood in front of us, he asked me to remove my sunglasses. I was getting upset (with my headache pounding) and I sarcastically answered, "NO". My boyfriend whispered just do it, quickly. After my response, the crowd grew REALLY REALLY quiet, and some expressions changed on people's faces. Next thing I knew he was on his knee, with an open ring box. "Will you marry me?" was my boyfriend's words. At which I obviously said "YES". The crowd roared with excitement as he placed the ring on my finger. I was so embarrassed, happy and shocked. Now the whole picture made since of that day. He had all this planned out, prearranged with the USFS Public Relations person. All of the news channels and my family had been briefed of this surprise, too. Everyone who knew did such a great job at keeping such a secret, I had no idea. His ultimate plan was to propose in the balloon, but things happened and changed the plans.
What a special day to remember. He is so romantic! He definitely took a lot of thought and special planning to make this happen. It definitely wasn't your normal proposal setting. So Smokey Bear is a big part of our lives, not just because he's my husband's boss, but because he was at our proposal, too.
**PICTURES ARE NOT FROM THE ACTUAL EVENT, FOUND ONLINE**
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