by Julia Griffin

Florida woman wins conch-blowing contest—and a marriage proposal
Fellow conch player Rick Race, 73 … dropped to one knee on stage and proposed to [Mary Lou] Smith, 70. She responded by coaxing a hearty note from the shell, as onlookers cheered.—The Guardian

O charming was the conch she blew!
Admirers clustered thick;
But none would do for Mary Lou
But Concho Honcho Rick.

Rick Race, his name: a concher-wonk,
By nobody impressed
Till Mary Lou performed a conch
Concerto in Key West.

Such hearty concord filled the air,
He dropped upon one knee,
Whereat she coaxed her conch to bare
Its heart’s concavity.

Then all around began to cheer,
And bang the honky tonk,
The surfboard, and the chandelier,
In time with conch and conch:

For Mary Lou had won her Race,
Her very best encore;
While one might trace in Race’s face
The conscious conqueror.