By LARRY BARSZEWSKI
Staff Writer
Strong winds quickly
obliterated John Dozier's marriage proposal on Wednesday, but
not before Jenelle Harris had a chance to say yes.
Dozier's
proposal -"Jenelle Marry Me"- stretched out
over Boca Raton on Wednesday morning, skywritten in
mile high letters. "I thought it was great.
Very romantic," said Harris, of Nashville, Tenn.
"At first, I looked at him. I said, 'Are
you asking me to marry you?' Then I said
yes."
|
The proposal almost didn't happen.
Dozier, from
Pennsville, N.J., and Harris had come down for a vacation on
Dec. 29 and were going to return New Year's Day. But
uncooperative weather kept delaying Dozier's skywriting
plan. It was either too cloudy or rainy or windy.
Dozier talked Harris into extending the vacation,
saying he wanted a sunny day while he was in South Florida.
Finally, Dozier could wait no longer because he had to
drive back north so he could pay his employees in New Jersey
on Friday. Despite strong winds at higher levels on
Wednesday, skywriter Jim Butler of Aerial Sign Co. In Pembroke
Pines agreed to go up. "It's kind of like, it's now or never,"
Butler said. "He was pretty patient. It's an
important milestone in a person's life." |
Dozier, 29 and Harris, 22, met at spring break in
Daytona Beach last year. Dozier took Harris to South
Beach in Boca Raton on Wednesday, ostensibly for one last
chance to sunbathe. Harris noticed the skywriter as soon as he started
making a heart. She knew the message was for her after
Butler had printed "J-E-N-E."
"We had talked about getting married before, but I
still didn't know for sure until they started printing the 'M'
and the 'A,' Harris said. "He was just sitting
there. I kept saying, 'Why's my name up in the sky?' and
he is saying, 'I don't know.'"
After the message appeared, Dozier pulled out a
one-carat diamond ring he had hidden.
Dozier had wanted to skywrite, "Will you marry me,
Jenelle," but he had to settle for a shorter version
because of 57 mph winds at more than 10,000 feet of altitude,
Butler said. |
