A Collision on the Lake

By BILL HOCHHAUS

Dear Diary:

I left New York City in 1999, and brought my three children there for the first time this July. It was a wonderful week of sharing favorite spots and creating new ones.

One thing I did with my children that I had never done when I lived in New York was take a rowboat out on the Lake in Central Park. My children immediately fell in love with the park, and we decided to brave the heat and crowds. I got to man the boat with my twin 6-year-olds, while my wife shared rowing duties with my eldest.

We pushed off rowing backward, and immediately crashed into a gondola.

As our vessels locked side by side, I noticed that the other boat was filled with roses, and as the gentleman began to release a basket of live butterflies, I began to comment loudly on how romantic the scene was.

As I was suggesting that the whole thing might make me cry, the woman in the boat gasped , “You're not!” To this, my daughter screamed, “Daddy, I can see the ring!”

Finally embarrassed for intruding on their moment, I pried my boat loose, and pushed off just in time for the lovely woman to say yes in private, while another couple looked at me with scorn for being such a loud presence.

My children will remember the moment forever, as I am sure will the young couple. For the rest of the hour on the lake, my daughter would say, “Daddy, there goes the romantic boat again.”

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