We’re getting married!

Our first date was at Boston Public Garden on an unseasonably warm night in February, 2017. Larry was sitting on what is now known as the “Park Bench” anxiously awaiting Linnan’s arrival. He recounts his first sighting of Linnan as something from a movie. He first spotted her standing under an old-fashion lamp post under a moonlit sky. He quickly stood up, told himself “this is the moment of truth”. As they walked towards one another, Linnan moved in for a warm embrace while Larry went for an awkward, 1950s style handshake. After exchanging pleasantries, Larry was quite smitten by her beauty and pleasantly surprised that her dating profile pictures were even more stunning as they came to life. In contrast, Larry’s dating pictures were from a slightly younger version of himself when he thought running 6 miles a day was fun. Shockingly, Linnan didn’t bat an eye or wonder why she was staring down a decade older version of Larry. As they casually strolled through the park, Larry distinctly remembers Linnan staring him up and down, essentially doing a full body scan something analogous to a security checkpoint at an airport. He later realized that she was shocked that not all scientists have Einstein-like hair, speak in code, and could be physically attractive. He took that as a compliment, but still wonders if she just had a low activation energy threshold for scientists? As the night progressed, laughter ensued. Larry convinced Linnan that he never hit a deer on his drive home from Vermont to Florida in graduate school. It was actually the deer that hit Larry. Linnan said Larry’s story was lawyer-esque and as convincing of a tale as one would hear in a court of law. The rest of the night was filled with laughing-induced tears and jaw pain, shock from learning we are carbon copies of one another in many facets of life, and heart-palpitations from knowing we just ignited something very special.

On November 16, 2018, Larry surprised Linnan with an engagement trip to Florida. They flew to Fort Lauderdale, rented a convertible mustang (lil blue), and drove along the turquoise blue waters to a final destination of Key West. Larry proposed to Linnan the same day at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park Beach at Sunset. She said "Yes"!