New Year's Eve, 1982. Kate and I had been together for over a year as a couple. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this woman. In fact, I found a letter in late 2007 from December of 1981 that I sent while we were apart over Christmas break our senior year. In that letter I told her that I intended to marry her; no question- just a statement. I don't recall ever really discussing marriage directly. But I do know that I had made up my mind, and I don't believe I had any real concerns that she would say no. For months during the fall of 1982 I thought about how and when I would propose. I finally settled on New Year's Eve, wanting to be able to start the new year together in a new and more committed way. I purchased a small solitaire from a jeweler in Lafayette, IN. Jordan's Gems I believe. A very nice man and his wife ran the store and helped me choose a loose diamond and then a setting for it. We were so broke I couldn't afford much. And with that I had to put it on lay-away and make weekly payments. Credit wasn't a part of our life and savings didn't exist. There was some misunderstanding and the jeweler thought I didn't want the ring until after Christmas, so when I went to pick it up before we left town for the holiday, it wasn't ready. But he finished it up the next day and I carefully tucked it in my pocket and we headed to Cleveland. Christmas came and went and my family asked questions about presents given and received. I've always thought they expected an engagement ring under the tree, but it wasn't there. It must have been my first Christmas at the Lane's. New Year's Eve finally arrived. Bob and Joanne headed to a club in Akron for the evening. Kate wanted to see friends so we met up with Helen and Marcie and then went over to Ken's apartment. I was probably something of a party-pooper because I wanted to be alone at midnight. This group of old friends were still in a college frame of mind and I wasn't interested in drinking or altering my awareness. But I had no real excuse to get Kate away and alone and as the night wore on I became more sullen. At some point she agreed to leave and we headed back to her parent's, arriving about 11:30 or 11:40. At this point the nervousness really set in. I had one chance to really express my love and I didn't want to fumble. We sat in front of the fireplace with Dick Clark on the TV, and as the ball in Times Square dropped, I handed Kate the small ring box and simply told her that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. No question, no chance for a response. Just the statement. It was not what I wanted to say. It never seemed to have the weight of my emotion or the grandeur that it deserved. But after a few tears and kisses, that didn't seem to matter.