a glorious moment

We had spent the past hour or so driving, walking, talking, and smoking.  We listened to music, we exchanged gifts, we tested the ice on the pond.  (It creaked a bit.)
He gave me a novel-length note.  Halfway through reading it I realized he was on one knee.  By the third time he asked, I was able to stop crying long enough to say yes.
The ring is beautiful.

emma's story (a guest post)

This morning I left my house at 7:28 am to walk to the bus stop in the snow (yes, I take the bus). The snow was not very deep yet, but there was just enough of it to make the roads wet and slippery, and so I shuffled my feet along cautiously to avoid any embarassment. Even so, I was wearing flats (which do not grip well on anything, never mind snow), and so by accident I slid a few feet across the cross walk. After regaining my equilibrium and continuing to walk, I suddenly heard the voice of my next-door neighbor, a little old lady with curly grey hair, whose face had appeared in her now-open window. I speak to my neighbor on a few occasions, but mostly all I ever hear her say is "Hello."
"Be careful!" she called out to me this morning in an adamant tone. "Don't slip, or you'll have a wet butt for school!"
She closed her window, and that was that,

my clumsy self

I loved doing the trash run at the bakery.  It was an opportunity to escape the non-air conditioned store for a few minutes, breathe the cool outside air and stretch my legs.
On this particular day, the load included, among other things, several bags that once held flour.  In trying to shove them over the top of the dumpster, one upended and dumped the remainder of its contents right in my face.  I was wearing all black.
I was wearing all black no longer.

Also, flour is a choking hazard.

a performing professor

On the first day of class, my professor called roll, making comments on the various names and asking us about nicknames, etc etc.  All very ordinary and typical.
Then he arrived at my name.
"Molly Malone."
"Here."  I raised my hand.
He stopped and peered at me over his glasses.
"Did your parents know..."
"No, they didn't know," I replied quickly, "but I know.  I know about the restaurants and bars and hotels and songs by name.  I know."
I love my name, but I don't prefer to have class time taken up discussing its sheer awesomeness.  It can become very distracting.
"Would you like to sing your song for the class?"  He seemed genuinely excited about the idea.
"Ah, no, I'd rather not."
"Fine then, I will!"
Thus the class was treated to a somewhat off-key rendition of "Molly Malone" by our short, roundish professor on the first day of class.
Thankfully he only sang the first verse.

far too friendly

They tell you not to joke around when you go through security at an airport.  Don't talk about bombs, knives, guns, or make jokes with the security personnel.  Take off your shoes, drop your keys in the grey bucket, and don't make a ruckus.

Apparently, the TSA agents themselves have different instructions.

I handed him my ID and boarding pass.  He raised one eyebrow when he looked at it and checked it several times.  

"Your name is Molly Malone?"

"Yes, sir."  I replied, praying my name wasn't on some list of "most wanted bloody violent terrorists" somewhere.

"Molly Malone?"

"Yes?"  I was becoming less sure of myself at this point.

"Hm."  He frowned at it, then looked up at me.

Then he smirked.  

"There's a great bar called Molly Malone's here."  He handed back my ID, laughing at my worry-ridden expression.  "Check it out sometime."

a tender-hearted movie-goer

Every time something vaguely poignant happened in the film, I heard some sort of "aww" from the row in front of me.  The occupant of the seat was a young man in his early 20s.
Annoyed with his constant noise, I glanced over on one of these "aww" occasions.  Every time he said it he snuggled his popcorn.
After that I was too busy laughing to be annoyed.

a perceptive partner

I took a social dance class.  The first day of class, as I moved from partner to partner, I made an effort to learn all their names.  One partner was a bit more ambitious.
"Hello," He greeted me.
"Hello."
He looked me up and down.
"Let me guess, you're kind of an artsy type, you like odd music, and you watch films, not movies."

He was exactly right.

a generous stranger

I try to talk to customers when I can, make conversation, be friendly.
"Hello," I greeted her, "I love your skirt!"
"Well, thanks!"  She replied.
Someone else helped her make her purchase.  She left.

An hour later I was taking my turn at the register.  She walked back in, now in jeans, put a paper bag on the counter, and whispered to me, "This is for you."
Inside was the skirt.

a clean classmate

The class in our room before us had left a box of donut holes at the front of the room.  As my class was about to start, we passed around the box, enjoying the unexpected treat.
I finished mine as the professor started lecturing, and began opening a document on my laptop in which to take notes.
"Psst!"
The student behind me hailed me none-too-subtly.
I turned and glanced at him, trying not to disrupt class.
"Your hands are dirty!  You need this so you won't get germs on your laptop!"
Before I could respond he tossed me a small bottle of hand sanitizer.  Somewhat creeped out, I opened the bottle and upended it to put a bit in my palm.  Eager to be of service, my classmate mimed rubbing his hands together so that I would know what to do with the substance I now held.
Finished, I handed back the bottle and mouthed the words "Thank you," still a bit confused by his gesture.
Smiling, he held his hands up to his nose.
I frowned, confused.
He repeated the gesture, whispering, "smell your hands!"
I turned back to my laptop, somewhat disturbed.

He caught me after class.
"Did you recognize that smell?"  He asked eagerly.
"No, uh, no, I didn't."
"It's rosemary!"
Delighted with himself, he scurried away down the hall.

random hugs are nice

I was at a college basketball game.  There was a guy in the first women's restroom I tried.  In an effort to avoid embarrassing him, I slipped out and walked down to the next one on the hall.
Half an hour later, I was walking down the hall again during a time out.  A young man hailed me.
"Hey, can you tell my friend here where the men's restroom is?"
Perplexed, I turned and was about to point out the restrooms ten feet from where we stood when in recognized the fellow's friend as the guy I had seen in the women's restroom earlier.
"The men's bathroom is right there."  I pointed it out.  "Don't confuse it with the women's restroom, which is over there.  There was a guy in there earlier, you wouldn't want to embarrass yourself like that."
Realizing I had seen him, the fellow's eyes widened and he began to laugh.  Wrapping me in a huge bear hug he thanked me heartily and left, almost crying from laughter.