DAY 116: A FAVORITE DERBY DAY

I once experienced a Derby Day that seemed absolutely enchanted! Everything that could go right went right.

My husband scored some prime box seats at the finish line; they were just under cover, which served us very well - we were spared the major rain that held up the Derby for quite some time that year that Smarty Jones won.

We chatted with our neighbors in the box in front of us and got in on a "secret"... they were from Pennsylvania and with the Smarty Jones crew...but the main thing was that there would be an attempted engagement that day, and we would have a front row seat to the requested betrothal. Naturally, we were all about it!

The clouds gathered and the rain came down...while most everyone else at Churchill Downs was wondering when the rain would stop so the Derby could resume, we were in our front row seats, witnessing a very soggy marriage proposal.

 

A pretty friend of the soon to be engaged couple...

  

 She was helping him plan his strategy. Notice the red rose....

 

 The couple during the races...and before the proposal...

 It was a driving rain, and we wondered when it would end. Everyone in front of this couple's box had abandoned their seats. But our Derby neighbor was not willing to wait for a sunnier moment to pop the question...our Derby Romeo got down on his knees in the rain and asked his girl to marry him.

And she said, "YES!"

And then he started acting like a total red neck and she called it off.*

___

About that time, the sky parted, the sun shown brightly, and the Derby resumed with a zillion Derby fans none the wiser about what had just transpired in the box seats at the finish line.

Just one of many Kentucky Derby stories...

 *I'm kidding about her calling it off, but he did act like a total redneck!!! However, he did eventually calm down a bit, as you can see from the pictures below.

I wonder how they are doing today.