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+---
+title: The Wedding Proposal Fiasco
+---
+
+After a few years of doing my own fireworks, I guess I had built a
+reputation in the family as the guy to see about doing something really
+impressive for special occasions. Perhaps Dan Clark hadn\'t heard all
+the family stories about the failures and fiascos, because he seemed to
+have full confidence that I could create a memorable experience on the
+occasion when he wanted to ask our daughter Emily to marry him. It was
+sometime in the summer of 2001 when Dan asked me to create a fireworks
+display where the finale would be a big sparkling depiction of the
+proposal, \"Will you marry me, Emily?\" Dan had already done his duty
+earlier and asked me for my permission to ask her the big question. Now
+he wanted me to make a memory that would become legend in the family
+annuls. In that regard, I was somewhat successful, but not quite the way
+I had intended.\
+\
+For the next few weeks, I planned and constructed the fireworks show
+that would be performed at the Miele farm about a half mile away from
+our home in Windham. My plan was to construct the display for the
+wedding proposal out of sparklers arranged in such a way as to spell out
+the words of the question. The sparklers were mounted on a framework of
+peg board sheets mounted to vertical posts that were sledge-hammered
+into the ground. Now, the professionals often do something similar to
+create a display of some kind of a figure, like an eagle head or some
+other patriotic symbol, for fireworks show finales. However, they are
+usually constructed using tubes of slow burning chemicals, called
+\"lances\", such that the fiery display is visible for about 20 to 30
+seconds. I reasoned that I could create the same effect of using
+sparklers instead of the customary lances. Unfortunately, I didn\'t have
+time to test my new innovation to see if the effect would be the same. I
+simply forged ahead confident that my knowledge of fireworks
+construction was based on sound principles.\
+\
+The only real trick to the display, I reasoned, was to get all the
+sparklers lit in a short amount of time, so the whole display was
+visible at once. To do this, I created hundreds of feet of a special
+kind of fuse called \"sticky match\". It is nothing more than a train of
+gun powder placed down the middle of ordinary clear packing tape. When
+properly attached to the ends of the sparklers, the sticky match was
+supposed to burn very quickly, at approximately 10 feet per second, so
+it would light all the sparklers in a matter of a few seconds. I could
+just imagine in my mind the wonder and awe on the faces of my enraptured
+audience when they beheld the majesty of my creation as it dramatically
+lit the night sky.\
+\
+On the night of the fateful event, I successfully lit the smaller items
+that I had constructed for the early part of the fireworks show. All was
+going well until I lit the fuse for the finale. The sticky match worked
+beautifully. It quickly raced along as intended and lit all the
+sparklers in short order. However, the sparklers burned so hot that they
+didn\'t just burn at the tip, like a sparkler is supposed to do. Instead
+of creating a nice sparkly sentence, the whole display went up in a big
+ball of fire and then went out just as suddenly. Instead of gasps of
+excitement and cheers from the audience, there was only an awkward air
+of confusion. Dan Clark knew it was his big moment and did some quick
+thinking to salvage the opportunity of his lifetime. He quickly ran over
+to where Emily was standing and got down on one knee and asked Emily if
+she would be his wife for time and all eternity. Before Emily could
+answer, I explained to her that I had constructed a final fireworks
+piece that would allow her to reply with more than a verbal \"yes or
+no\". I had made two fireworks fountains for this purpose. If Emily lit
+one of them, the answer would be no, but if she lit two, the answer
+would be yes.\
+\
+The night air was tense with anticipation as Emily slowly made her way
+over to the place where the two fountains awaited her choice. She lit
+the first one, which shot a few paltry sparks about 5 feet into the air.
+Then, she lit the second one. It was a huge monster that ejected bright
+golden sparks nearly 80 feet into the air. It was intended to be a
+dramatic way to say, \"Of course I will marry you!!\" It was a memorable
+contrast to the earlier epic failure. This time, I achieved the effect I
+had hoped to see on the faces of everyone present as the huge fountain
+roared to life and filled the darkness with a spectacular painting of
+fire.\
+\
+Fortunately, the final success erased the shame of the first failure. It
+was a night to remember and an eternity to celebrate. The results of
+that decision have been just as spectacular and will build a legacy of
+love and devotion that will endure forever.