USA Girl

Thursday, October 13, 2005 Posted: 1450 GMT (2250 HKT)

【HILLSBORO, North Dakota (AP) -- It's the thought that counts when it

comes to a marriage proposal.】


Chris Mueller, 25, was nearly finished etching the big question into a

harvested soybean field when he realized the 'm' in 'marry' took up too

much room.


Since he couldn't erase a plowed field, he had a decision to make.


"I figured it would look better to spell it wrong and get a laugh out of

it, rather than botch it all," Mueller told the Grand Forks Herald.

"I could have fit all the letters in, but it would have looked tacky."


Instead, it read: "KATIE WILL YOU MARY ME?"


Mueller's next step involved taking his girlfriend, Katie Goltz, for an

airplane ride under the guise of looking for deer. At first, she missed

the misspelling. Goltz was caught up in the message.


"I scanned it, noticed what it said and was speechless," she said. "I

said 'yes' and cried like all girls do."


But on closer inspection, Goltz realized "marry" was a letter short.

"I thought it was so sweet that he spelled it wrong," she said. "I thought

it made it more cute and more special."


Mueller's father, Tom, twice used fieldwork to send romantic messages to

his wife, Diane.


(Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material

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