It was Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1983. I was about to do something that would change the destiny of my life forever. There was just one major obstacle though: A short muscular guy with a receding hairline and an opinion about any and every subject imaginable. I had something I needed to ask him, but I wasn’t exactly sure how he would react to it. “He will surely have an opinion on my question.” I nervously thought.
So I pondered my question as I watched the Detroit Lions play the Pittsburgh Steelers that Thanksgiving afternoon. It was a great game! Gary Danielson, along with the legendary running back Billy Sims, helped the Lions crush the Steelers by a score of 45 to 3. Yet my normal care-free sports joy was tempered by the fact that J.D. Brunan was sitting in a well-worn lazy boy chair just across from me in the TV room and I had never asked anyone this type of question before, let alone someone like J.D. To ask such a question, especially during a riveting football game, seemed especially wrong to me.
So my soon to be father-in-law decided that he needed to help me out. He pulled out this huge old doubled-barreled, 12 gage shotgun and proceeded to point it at my pale mug. Trying to speak with a western accent he said, “I hear you got something to ask me.” This only caused me to melt to the floor in laughter. At this point I hoped it wasn’t a violation of protocol for me to ask another man for his daughter’s hand in marriage in between giggles and chuckles of laughter!
J.D. Brunan quickly replied, “Sure, she’s yours” Although that moment felt odd and short at the time, I have lived through many such unusual moments since then. Later that day, in a private place, I formally asked Kimberly Brunan if she would marry me. It was important to me that we get engaged on Thanksgiving Day because I wanted her to know that I would always be thankful for her.
Today I’m a thousand times more thankful for Kim then on that day we first were engaged! It was a moment in time when I got it right! I am fervently in love with Kim and am thankful for her in so many numerous ways!!
Read more articles by Tim Manzer or search for articles on the same topic or others.
