Another great story

This past summer my wife Sandy and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary so I must have done something right in spite of this.

I proposed to her on Dec. 23rd, 1976 on the one year anniversary of my return from my LDS mission to South Africa which was a great date because I knew I would not forget it.

Now to back up a bit, I met her on September 9th at a $1 dance at the old Terrace Ball Room. At the time I was dating two very nice young women and I really did not need another girlfriend but there she was standing under a recessed light that formed a cone of light around her and I just knew I had to ask her for a dance. Well one thing lead to another and we danced a few dances, I got her number and the next day (Friday) I called her and asked her to go with me to a mall dance on Saturday of the next week. She said 'yes' and so the date was set.
The next Thursday, the 16th, I joined my friend R.R. (name withheld to protect the innocent) at the weekly $1.00 Thursday Night dance at the Terrace. To my shock and surprise there were the three women I was dating all at the same dance. One with her cousin, one with her roommate and Sandy with her brother. I was in trouble but R.R. had a plan and with him running interference and moving me around I was able to dance several dances with all three and keep them separate never knowing the others were there. So things would be okay. I recall R.R. saying something about any girl dating me must be a real sucker but I did not mind as I was not ready to settle down to one women and get married.

Things, however, took a different turn. Over the next two months I broke up with the other two (one in October and the other just before Thanksgiving and never did they find out about the others) and I started getting serious with Sandy. Unfortunately, she learned, from my 'friends' and some times via a 'pre-emptive strike' by me (including the Terrace Ball Room incident) about what kind of person/player I was/had been. She soon learned what she was getting into and she still fell in love with me. We started to talk about marriage and her going down to BYU and I could NOT let her go down there without a ring (I was going to the U of U at the time) as I did not trust those 'RMs' down there. So I had to propose but I was a struggling student, going to school and working. I did not have much money so I could only afford a promise ring in the shape of a butterfly with a tiny chip of a diamond in it. It seemed so small. So I had to do something and came up with what I thought was a fun and I thought romantic idea to propose.

I created a Christmas Stocking and invited her to my home where my parents had to discretely vanish from sight while we sat by the fire and talked etc. Finally I gave her the stocking and she pulled out the first small items then she pulled out a 'Fizz Pop' sucker (an subconscious warning??) that I had brought home from my mission. Taped to it was a pull top ring from a can of soda. Taped to that ring was a 'ten cent piece' so I got down on my knee there and proposed to her with 'this dime and ring'. She thought it was funny and we laughed and she still said “Yes”! In the bottom of the stocking was the ring box with the promise ring which she truly loved. About that time I let out a 'whoop' letting the house know she had said 'yes' and my family came out and congratulated us and we all laughed about my corny proposal though to this day I am not sure my mother totally approved.

Ten years later I needed to give her something special and by then I was changing careers, we had three children and were paying a mortgage so I found a trophy at a thrift store. On it were the two masks from Greek Theater, the comedy and the tragedy (smiling face and frowning face). On it I placed a typed paper saying

"To Sandy for service above and beyond the call of duty in putting up with Martin in good times and bad during 10 fantastic years of marriage.

With love from, her devoted and oft times crazy husband and father of their three loving children.


Judy Savage, Innkeeper
The Armstrong Mansion - Salt Lake City, Utah