Chris Curle/Special to the Eagle

Bonnie Schmidt, left, celebrates her engagement to Anthony Benarroch, with their hostess for the big one-knee proposal event, Maria Elena Pujol.

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One-stop shop — and engagement venue

A new slogan for Maria Elena’s Hair Design might well be, “Stop in for a manicure and, oh yeah, an engagement ring.”

Recently it happened that way, sort of, at the salon, for islander Bonnie Schmidt, a hair care expert who works there with owner Maria Elena Pujol.

Bonnie knew that for her and her boyfriend Anthony Benarroch, an engagement was coming soon. He actually had proposed to her earlier, informally, but they had no ring at this time. The surprise was the time and place. Doesn’t everyone get engaged at a hair salon?

Salon nail tech Alicia Castillo was doing Bonnie’s nails as a gift when Anthony came in to wait for her. His mother, Nancy Santucci, owner of the Subway on North Collier, was there too, not coincidentally, having her hair done. It was part of Anthony’s scheme so his mom could be there for the big moment.

Anthony waited and waited, about two hours, while Bonnie did Nancy’s hair and Alicia did Bonnie’s manicure. Got that? The engagement ring was waiting too, out in Anthony’s car.

When Nancy’s hair and Bonnie’s nails looked absolutely fab, Anthony ran out, got the ring, ran back in, led Bonnie to the salon lobby, dropped to one knee and proposed.

“We had been tipped off to his plan,” explains Maria Elena, “so we had chocolate strawberries and champagne in the fridge for the big event.

“Other clients in the shop were thrilled. A couple of them jumped up and down, loving the scene, the moment.”

After all that beauty parlor excitement, the happy couple — Anthony and Bonnie, not the other two jumping clients — went to the beach for sunset.

This made-on-Marco romance first bloomed when Anthony was working at Da Vinci’s at Marco Walk and Bonnie was working part-time at Nacho Mama’s, just across the plaza.

The future? Anthony hopes to start his own restaurant, here if possible. And Bonnie wants to continue doing hair. The wedding? That’s planned for next spring. Unless Anthony has some other surprise up his sleeve or waiting out in his car. — Chris

Seniors still rock — but gently

Sometimes it seems young people are overtaking the planet, not to mention the malls and media. But for us geezers, there’s some good news in terms of keeping up with the kids.

A recent study by Price Waterhouse Coopers offers some facts to remind us seniors that in some ways, “we still got game.”

The study shows that more than a third of American are under the age of 25. Yikes. And when it comes to communications and media, they are way digital and quick thumbed, text messaging each other at a dizzying rate even if the most profound comments recorded to date may be, “Hey (or Yo) What’s up with you?”

Our youth like mobile media more than anything and many know about printed newspapers only from pop history specials on the FUSE channel or Style-TV. Some now call these people the “NET” generation. Oh.

But maturity strikes back. Fifty-plus Americans are spending more time with traditional (read: old-fashioned) media. And in most parts of the world, the 50+ population will see double-digit growth rates.

A friend says you can tell the approximate age of homes by whether there’s ever a newspaper on the driveway. Maybe, but seniors still rock, even if it takes longer than it used to. — Don 211

Here’s the real drill

If you are among Florida residents who want our elected leaders to change state policy and allow drilling for oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico — way out in the Gulf, that is — here’s a way for you to express yourself on the issue.

The pro-drilling effort is organized by “American Solutions,” whose most prominent proponent is the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich.

The group offers a way for individuals to sign a petition online. It reads, in part: “We… petition the U.S. Congress to act immediately to lower gasoline prices… by authorizing the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries.”

The web site: www.americansolutions.com/actioncenter/petitions.

American Solutions says that so far almost 1.4 million American citizens have signed the petition. It’s not limited to energy drilling proposals off Florida shores. The key phrase is “proven energy reserves.” — Don

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E-mails: chris@chriscurle.com and don@donfarmer.com