Parachuting out of a perfectly good airplane for the first time by itself is enough to get the 'ol ticker going- as was the case for Elaina and her beau, Lincoln Burch of rural Butler.
However, there was more to come.
According to SkyDive KC, who coordinated the tandem jump for the couple, the weather provided nearly perfect visibility as the twin engine plane climbed to 14,000 feet with Hagen, Burch and a handful of others ready to take the plunge.
But on this day, the plane was headed in a different direction than normally used for jumps. Elaina was oblivious to this, while everyone else on board knew differently. Unknown to her, they were headed toward a special location a few miles west of the airport.
As the engines roared, the plane began a slow turn when Burch pointed out the window to reveal a carefully crafted message in a hayfield just off TT highway.
WILL YOU MARRY ME was carved in the roughly acre sized grass, and Elaina knew the message was directed to her.
"I had my suspicions" she said smiling, "that he was going to ask me to marry him. But I never, ever, thought this would be how he'd do it".
It turns out her husband-to-be put a lot of thought, planning and energy into his artwork. It's not easy to write something on the ground over a large area and get it to look right. With the help from a GPS and farm equipment with high tech capability, Lincoln pulled it off with precision. In the midst, all the right words came to mind for Elaina-his actions were sweet, thoughtful, clever, dedicated....loving.
There was no delay in her answer. An astounding YES with a few tears of happiness just before the next heart pounding event- bailing out with a perfect landing a few minutes later near the Butler airport.
The couple plans to tie the knot in the Fall of 2021. With this kind of start, it will certainly be a lifetime of love and good times for Mr. and Mrs. Burch.
