Ding-a-ling with a ring
Steve Martaindale

Steve Martaindale is a self-syndicated columnist. Write him at penmanmailsteve@ yahoo.com.

If you're one to click on any of the "odd stories" links on the Internet, you've already seen this.

Briefly ... London floor-fitter Lefkos Hajji, 28, wanted to make his proposal to his 26-yearold sweetie something to remember.

First, he paid 6,000 British pounds - more than $12,100 U.S. - for an engagement ring. Next he concealed the ring inside a helium-filled balloon. With pin in hand, he intended to literally "pop" the question.

Get it? Cute, huh? But what's wrong with this plan is not that inhaling helium makes you talk funny.

As he walked outside, the wind pulled the balloon from his hand and it took flight with its precious cargo.

Lefkos went public with his shame, obviously hoping that someone will find the balloon and return the ring. I bet he's also getting checks in the mail from people touched by the story.

Oh, the rest of the story ...

He told his girlfriend and it did not go very well. He said she went "absolutely mad" and will not speak to him until he gets her a new ring.

Ahhh, how sweet is that? It's the perfect picture of a happy couple.

Lefkos, you did not ask for my advice ... and maybe we look at matters of the heart a little differently on this side of the pond ... but I beg that you heed my words.

Hop into your car and chase that balloon. And don't look back. If you find the ring or if someone returns it to you, tuck it away in a safe place or, better yet, sell it at auction where its story might earn you a profit.

Whether or not you find the ring, whether or not you lose money, consider it all as good fortune in that it revealed the secret desires of the woman with whom you had planned to spend the rest of your life.

Richer or poorer

Now, I don't actually know what a floor-fitter does, much less the type of compensation he demands, but my guess is that $12,000 is a sizeable chunk of his annual income. If so (and we're choosing to believe his story in the first place), he either let his heart override his brain or ... and I hate to make the point, but it is valid ... maybe he's a floor-fitter of little brain to begin with.

Regardless, the reaction of the object of his attention should scare him.

Her reply could have been more along the line of, "Honey, that was such a sweet idea. I'm touched that you put so much thought into it. I accept your proposal and we'll wait to see if the ring turns up. If not, we'll find something less expensive when we can afford it."

That is a partner you can trust when you're deciding what house or car to buy or whether you need to upgrade your entertainment system.

There is, of course, one last, distasteful possibility.

If you, Lefkos, with the aid of the florist and/or jeweler, concocted the story in hopes of enjoying a windfall from kindhearted people ... well, then, you and your sweetheart deserve each other.